Beneath the Surface
by The Celestial Dragon
Summary: All she had wanted was to find someone, anyone, who she could connect with. Someone who wouldn't betray her, that looked beyond the surface to the soul that lay beneath. When she found the secret pool, she hardly expected anything to happen. She especially didn't expect the Rampaging God to appear before her either. Takeru x Oc
1. The Meeting

_My passion lets my heart beat wildly_

_Riding along these surging feelings._  
_*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*_  
_Araburu kodou gekijou ni makase_

_Sakamaku kimochi nosete_

* * *

"How dare he!"

A door slammed in the quiet apartment, quickly followed by the stamping of feet and the lights flicking on. Heels clicked violently on the tatami mats as a young girl stormed her way to her futon, grabbing a pillow and burying her face into it, trying to stiffle the sobs coming from her throat.

It had been such a bad day, all she had wanted was to go and talk with him, find a way to soothe her nerves. He always had that effect on her. Able to cool her wrath as easily as she could cool his. But when flame met flame, things had exploded into an unstoppable inferno.

The only sounds she heard was the quiet tic, tic of the clock on the wall and her own muffled hiccups as she tried to steady her breathing. Lifting her head, she pushed her snow white hair out of her face and rubbed her eyes, staring bitterly at the ground.

Why had things gotten like this? Why had she said such stupid, hurtful things to him? She knew how he was. Anything dealing with his violent past was taboo, especially when used negativly. Granted, he had used some of her own in retaliation, which made the knife cut even deeper on both of them.

Her heart clenched as she thought of the last expression that had been on his face. Rage, frustration, but also the pain. She had crossed a line she swore she'd never cross, and now she feared she had lost the one person who understood her more clearly than any other.

A pale hand drifted up to her neck, where the turquoise choker she had fashioned herself held a single, pure white pearl. She touched it's smooth surface, feeling the tears well up in her eyes and threaten to spill. Her sea-blue eyes closed tightly, wishing she could take back everything that had happened. She was so stupid...

_How dare he? More like how dare I..._ Her thoughts turned sour towards herself, knowing she'd been the one to fan the flames. Her selfishness had gotten her in trouble once again. Letting out a shaky breath, she laid down on her futon, staring at the ceiling with despair.

_How am I going to ever be able to face him again?_

* * *

"Yukino-chan!"

Blinking, I looked back to where my classmate was running up to me. Smiling falsely, I stopped and waited while she caught up.

"Sheesh you walk so fast. Why aren't you in any athletic clubs again?" The other girl pushed her dark brown locks out of her way, grinning foolishly. Her name was Hanami, if I recalled correctly. Seemed sweet enough, but I knew better by now.

"Because I have no interest in any clubs. I have to study for the upcoming exams this year, I want to ace them all." I started to walk forward again, discreetly trying to put distance between me and the girl, hoping she'd get the hint.

She didn't. Hanami kept walking with me and chatting, trying to engage me somehow. "But studying all the time is boring! I mean, do you even date? I know that a few guys have their eyes on you. You're so pretty, how can they not look."

My smile tightened a bit. This was quickly getting tiresome. "If they were really interested in getting to know me, they'd have already started talking to me by now. It's already two months into the year."

Hanami reguarded me carefully, as if judging. Turning away from the brown orbs of my classmate, I turned my own ocean colored eyes straight ahead, having a specific goal in mind. If only I could get rid of my tag along.

"But there must be someone you like! Even something other than school."

I stopped walking, turning and looking back at Hanami with a cool expression on my face. "Why are you here? I know you're not really interested in getting to know me. If you think I'll open up and trust a stranger, you're wrong."

Hanami paused, looking stunned. Then her face twisted into a fierce frown before turning around. "Fine, be that way. You're as cold as everyone says you are, you know? No wonder no one wants to be around you." Spitting the words over her shoulder, she marched off, back stiff and arms swinging.

I sighed in relief before turning around and walking once more, a slight frown on my face. I hated when the people at school tried to send others to find out things about me to use to torture me. It was ridiculous how often they did it as well, though they were finally starting to run out of moles to send my way.

Perhaps I should explain. My name is Yukino, Manabe Yukino. I'm a first year in high school, and as you could probably tell, not the most popular. Many people looked at my slightly tan skin, white hair and blue eyes and shy away almost immediatly. And those that didn't usually wound up making excuses to not hang out with me anymore. I hadn't had a true friend since grade school, and I was perfectly fine with this.

I'd never had a boyfriend either, but that was fine too. I had studies to do, no time for love. Or at least that was the front I put up.

I hated being alone, but everyone I'd ever met only seemed interested on the outside. 'Oh, you're so pretty!' Direct lie there, most people feard my looks. 'You're so smart and athletic looking!' Nothing about my personality or any other talents I had, not that I let them see them after one year...

Shaking my head to clear the bad memories away, I ran my hand through my shoulder-length white hair, silently wishing it would grow longer. Despite it's color, which was actually natural, I liked it a lot. Bouncy and flowy, instead of pin-straight and course, I counted myself lucky in the hair department.

School had just let out for the day, thankfully, and I was taking my afternoon walk to the sea. I lived in a city by the coast, which I fully took advantage of every chance I got. It was only a twenty minute walk from my school as well, so that was where I usually wound up after a difficult day. Already I could see the sun shining on the surface from where I was, and I stepped up the pace.

If there was one guilty pleasure I indulged in often, it was watching the sun set over the ocean. Each being so different from the last, the colors that were painted across the sky in different patterns...there was nothing like it to me. it gave me a sense of peace that lasted for at least a little while in my lonely world.

I hopped over the guard rail that lined the beach, my green school skirt fluttering dangerously in the wind. It was long enough to hide everything, thankfully, so I paid it no mind and walked towards the pile of rocks that was my usual sitting place to watch the sun go down.

Only...something seemed off this time. The rocks looked different to me, which threw me. Frowning as I got close, I started to hop on them and take a closer look. From the look of it, something big had distrubed them, like an earthquake. But there hadn't been any lately, and my suspicions deepened when I saw that they seemed to head off past where I normally stopped. Curiosity filled my mind, but caution as well.

Should I follow? Or should I stay where I knew I was?

_Oh, why not._ I shrugged and hopped down, quickly making my way towards the haphazard line of rocks so that I could get a closer look.

* * *

"Are you _serious?_" I blurted out, huffing from how far I'd had to go out of my way.

In total, it wasn't too long of a walk from where I usually stayed, but the sand was still wet from the earlier tide, and my shoes had long since been put into my pack to stay clean, so I was having to trek it barefoot through the terrain, encountering many hidden things. Usually of the sharp persuasion, to my frustration.

I reached down and pinched off the slice of shell that had managed to prick me this time, putting it to the side before continuing on. I could see a rather large rock formation down the way, and I'd long since passed the hustle and bustle of the city limits, so the only sounds were the waves and the sea birds calling to each other. I found myself relaxing some despite my frustration, letting the warm breeze from the sea wrap around me. Perhaps it was worth the extra effort to walk this far, if it would relax me more than my other place...

When I finally reached the large pile of rocks, I was surprised to see that it had made a mound of sorts, and judging from the way the wind was moving through the cracks, there was a nice sized cavern in there. I paused and looked around, hoping to see some kind of hole big enough for me to crawl through.

Ah, there was one on the side, facing the setting sun. Grinning, I hurried towards it, hoping to see what would be inside of this new little cave.

Only, when I looked in, it wasn't so little.

I peered into the darkness, astonished at how the outside belied what lay within. The entrance itself was enough for someone of my small size (only five-three, much to my embaressment) to squeeze through, but then it widened out impossibly after a few feet, the ground at a slope leading deeper into the ground.

"What in the world..." I found myself muttering. I bit my lower lip, wondering what I should do next. It was getting dark now, with little to no light peering through the cracks from the outside. I didn't have any sort of flashlight on me either, despite my constant mental notes to myself.

The wind picked up slightly, blowing into the cave like it was urging me to go. I hesitated, not sure of what lay within there, and honestly I was scared to find out. But if I didn't go now, what other chance would I have?

I took a deep breath and I slipped inside the cave feet first.

"OW!"

I let out a cry as I landed slightly wrong, one of my ankles protesting the strain fromt he sudden weight put on it. Grimacing, I reached down to rub it before testing for a sprain. Thankfully there was none, just a bit of pain from a sudden stop. Brushing off my bottom of the bit of debris that had clung to my skirt, I looked back up at the hole where I'd dropped in from. It wasn't too high from the ground, but climbing it would be a challenge later on in the dark. _Too late now_, I thought.

I turned and looked deeper in the cave, setting my school bag down near the entrance so it wouldn't get trashed as I went farther in. I felt my way forward, though I really had no need. The inside of this cave was impressive, and it kept going down, down into the ground, underneath the beach and I suspected underneath part of the earth beyond. I was wondering how such a place could have gone this long without being discovered, but then I realized that it wasn't getting darker the farther I went in.

Blinking, I took a second look. Sure enough, a little bit of light, like that reflected from a pool, was dancing on the walls and ceiling of the cave. I watched it for a few seconds before going in deeper, curiosity in full force.

The farther I got, the brighter it got, which made no sense at all. This deep in the cave, at least a hundred feet or so, it should have been pitch black with no sun shining in. Instead the soft blue lights danced like an aurora on the walls, entrancing me whenever I took a glance at them. My bare feet made no sound as I trekked on, becoming more sure of my footing when I saw nothing that would trip me up.

The walls started to close in on themselves some, forcing me to squeeze through a place or two to keep going. For once I was actually glad of my thin and short stature, as I navigated my way deeper and deeper. I held my breath as the light got very bright, and I swore I saw little particles, much like what danced in the sea currents, dancing in the light.

It looked like I'd have to squeeze through one last pinch and I'd be there. It looked a lot tighter than the others I'd had to go through, but I sucked in my guy and forced my way in, coming out with a slight 'pop' noise as I stumbled forward, landing on all fours.

"Oww..." I grumbled, rubbing my knees where they had hit the hard rock below me. Sighing, I looked up...and couldn't breathe.

The space in front of me wasn't that large, but the air I breathed was fresh, nothing like the deep air of a cave should be. I tasted a tinge of salt as well, which was only slightly strange to me. Little particles danced within the air, seeming to move in tandem with the light that was being emitted.

My eyes looked around the cavern, a little disappointed to find the cave walls bare of any markings. Then my ocean orbs fell on what lay in the center of the room, the source of the light.

A round pool of salt water, with little waves rippling on the surface despite there being no breeze. It was large enough to fit maybe two people in comfortably, with them being on opposite edges. The light was coming from within it, and I crawled forward on my hands and knees, peering over the edge to see where the light was coming from. Maybe this was someone's idea of a prank?

I found no trace of artificial light, however, only seeing the pool going down, deeper than I could see even with the light coming from it. In fact, it didn't seem like there was anything lighting the water at all. Entranced by the ripples, I slowly reached my hand down and dipped my fingers into the water, shocked to find how warm it was.

I pulled my hand back and sat at the edge of the pool, staring down into it with a soft expression on my face. I'd always been entranced by the sight of waves and ripples on the surface of water, and this tiny pool drew my attention like nothing before, even the sea.

It felt like it was inviting me, drawing me in, but not to take a dip. No, it felt like it wanted me to open myself to it, to tell it my greatest secrets so it could guard them, and to tell it my troubles so it could soothe me. I let my eyes flutter shut, leaning over the edge of it slightly to soak in the rays of light that came from within it. Almost unbidden, my mouth opened, and I began to talk.

"I'm Yukino. Manabe Yukino. I'm a first year in high school, seventeen years old. I'm a Cancer in astrology, and I hate being alone." I opened my eyes, suddenly feeling a tad awkward. The pool kept rippling, the slight sound of splashing seeming to urge me to continue. Feeling a little silly, I kept talking.

"I hate how people at school are so shallow." I frowned, remembering how Hanabi had been pestering me earlier. "They're only interested in each other's image, and gods forbid that their image slips. Then it's suddenly a scandal, and they never live it down. I can't stand how people are like that now."

I blinked, pausing for a second. I thought I saw something move right underneath the ripples. And...did the pool seem just a bit less shallow? I thought I could see the bottom.

_My eyes are just adjusting,_ I told myself, and continued to talk.

"People are always asking me, why do you act so cold? Why don't you have friends or a boyfriend? Don't you trust anyone?" I snorted, shaking my head. "Why trust people when they'll just betray you in the end? One way or another it always happens, especially to me."

The pool rippled again, and I saw another flash of movement. But for some reason, I just couldn't bring myself to care, gladly spilling my guts for the pool to hear as the waves lapped at the sides, encouraging me. I'd held it in me for too long, I figured.

"No one cares to know what anyone's really like anymore. They only see what's on the outside. Most look at me and say 'she's been touched by death.' All because of my hair color! I like my white hair, it's one of the only things I do like about myself. And those who do actually try to get me to talk are only out for my notes most of the time." I paused, grinning some. "They're not getting them though, they have to pass school on their own."

A large shadow suddenly passed right under the surface of the water, but it was gone in an instant. And was the pool's bottom even closer? I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me, though I was starting to get suspicious...

"Why are humans like this?" I wondered out loud, sighing. Leaning back and looking at the dancing specks, I murmured. "I just don't get it...what's the point in trusting people? They're only out for themselves in the end."

Shaking my head, I looked back down at the pool, only to widen my eyes and jump back, a slight scream escaping my throat. The hairs on the back of my neck raised up and my body froze, my eyes locked on what I saw in the pool.

The bottom _was_ closer, I could see it clearly now. But not only that, the surface had stilled, no movement marring the mirror-like surface. But that wasn't what alarmed me.

No, it was the image of a young man who was peering through, as if trying to see me on the other side.

_Wh-what the hell?!_ My mind locked down on that thought, my eyes trained on that face. He turned his gaze and golden eyes met blue. He blinked, and a scowl appeared on his face. Frightened, I took a quick step back. What was going on?!

Suddenly, his face disappeared from the surface. I blinked, then looked frantically for him, wondering if my mind was making things up. A few seconds later, I wished it had.

The surface of the water suddenly glowed, a bright white light causing me to take a few more steps back and cover my eyes, crying out in shock. I felt the ground tremble ever so slightly, and heard a loud splash coming from the water in the pool, as if something had just dove right into it. Something very large.

The light faded, and I cautiously opened my eyes some to peer out, only to snap them open. My jaw dropped in astonishment, hanging as I stared at the sight in front of me.

The young man was there, standing _in the air_ above the pool. His arms were crossed, his golden eyes leveled at me with a slight scowl on his face. More details about him came to me, as I noted his blue hair pulled back and spiked, with three white streaks on the left side. A golden circlet was holding it out of his eyes minus a bang on his right side, partially covering that eye, while the rest of his hair was in a ponytail that flowed behind him, fading to white near the end.

His clothes were strange as well, with the right side of his body mostly bare, while his left side had a gold and black sash. A strange armor adorned his left shoulder as well, a blue tassle hanging from where it tied it all together. His lower half had a thin blue fur fashioned around his waist, with what looked like samurai style armor dyed blue and silver, his belt buckle made of gold. He was very well toned, his muscles proof that he worked them regularly.

My entire being felt very small in the presence of this person, despite the fact that he seemed only marginally taller than I was, maybe an inch or so. I couldn't help but note that he was also very, _very_ handsome, exceeding any normal human standards. I trembled slightly, the ice in his gaze directed at me.

Narrowing his eyes, he stepped forward onto the rocks at the edge of the pool, no longer hovering above the water. Was this person a...god? Or had my mind finally lost it?

And then he spoke, breaking my reverie with his deep voice in a growl.

"Who the hell are you?"


	2. The Talk

_The pain left by my mistakes_

_Pierces my heart_

_Mune o tsukisasu ikutsumo no itami wa_

_Ayamachi dake nokoshite iku_

* * *

_"Who the hell are you?"_

I blinked, shutting my mouth and giving a slight glare at the guy, not liking the rude tone he had used.

"I could ask you the same question, you know. And how did you come out of that pool?!" I raised my voice louder than I probably should have, but I was so astonished and nervous that it came out a little more shrill than normal.

All I got for my questions was a glare and a threatening step forward, and I instinctively took a step back, watching him warily. His aura was full of power, wild and untamed, making near every hair stand on end on my body.

"I asked you who you were woman, and I expect an answer. Now who the hell are you!"

I felt myself pale slightly at his anger, slowly retreating from this man. "M-manabe Yukino...and what about you!" I forced myself to be brave, leveling my blue eyes with his golden ones.

"Tch. And why should I tell you, human?" He recrossed his arms, eyeing me like I was him, only with more confidence. A _lot_ more.

I felt a spark of anger at his attitude, and took a step back forward, slowly loosing my fear. "Well for one, you just appeared out of nowhere and scared the crap out of me, and for another I'd like to know who I'm dealing with."

A slight flicker of surprised crossed his face, but then he scowled again. "Susano'o, God of Sea and Storms. Does that satisfy you, woman?"

My heart did a flip flop, and my stomach lurched in a nauseating fashion. "God of...Susano'o?" I gasped, staring at him with wide eyes...for about two seconds. Then I frowned and took another step towards him.

"Okay, good one. You had me for a few seconds."

He blinked, and then raised an eyebrow at me in slight disbelief. "You think I'm lying?"

"Oh yeah," I huffed, crossing my arms and glowering right back at him as I walked towards him. "For one, you claim to be a god. For another, you were floating. _Floating._ Where's the wire that you were attached to?" I demanded, feeling my anger heighten at the thought of being fooled.

The young man stared at me, more surprised than anything at my refusal that he was a god. But when I got within a few feet of him, his attitude came back full force and he snorted.

"A god doesn't need a wire to float, you stupid human," he said, and then when I was nearly in front of him, he glowed slightly and hovered about a foot in the air, scowling down at me.

I blinked up at him, surprised for a second before I rolled my eyes and circled around him, looking for whatever trick he was using to fool me. But as I looked and found nothing, a part of me began to actually believe that he was who he said he was...

I came back around front of him and put my hands on my hips, waiting for him to come down. Susano'o (or whoever the hell he was) did, and I noted that he was in fact only about an inch taller than me, which made me feel a little more confident in myself. I leaned forward and peered at where his hair met his head, determined to see if it was a wig.

"What kind of glue do you use? That actually looks convincing," I said with some sarcasm, lowering my line of vision from his hair to his eyes, searching for the lining of the contacts I was sure he was using. I found none, but for some reason I couldn't help but keep looking in his eyes, thinking that maybe I would find something...

He jerked back after a few seconds, however, lifting a lip in a sneer. "What would it take to prove to you I am a god?"

"How about you demonstrate your power, O mighty god of the sea," I huffed, recrossing my arms. Like he could do something like that, no matter how convin-

"Ha!" With a laugh, he turned towards the pool, which once again had ripples upon the surface, and to my utter shock, pulled the water from it with merely a gesture and flung it right towards me. I yelped and quickly dodged the majority of the water, but a side swipe caught my chest and drenched the front of my green uniform shirt. I gasped more from the shock of being hit than the temperature of the water. I lifted my gaze back to Susano'o, seeing the cocky smirk he now wore.

"Well, was that enough to convince you, woman? Or should I go ahead and drench you head to foot?"

I couldn't help but scowl at him, and started to wring my shirt out without taking it off, uncomfortable in the now wet cloth. "Fine fine, you're a god. But if you're a god, what are you doing here?"

I watched as he furrowed his brow, tilting his head to the side. "I heard someone talking through the pool, and came to see who it was. How did you even find it?"

I felt my irritation decrease as he seemed to calm down as well, letting go of my shirt and sighing. "Honestly I just came across it after I noticed the rocks around the place where I usually go to watch the sunset were displaced. They kind of led in this direction, but it was so haphazard that I'm surprised I was able to follow it."

Susano'o crossed his arms and looked thoughtful, and I took this chance to eye him again, a few questions floating around. He noticed me staring and glared.

"Why are you watching my face like that?" he asked. I tilted my head a bit, then smirked.

"What, you don't like people looking at you, Mr. God?"

"No I don't. So shut up and stop it." His tone got rather rude again, making me frown.

"Ah come on. This is the first time I've met a god before, I've got to get a few details of you down." I poked my tongue out at him, making him stare.

"...You're a strange one."

"What tipped you off?" I grinned at him, wondering how much I could actually poke him without going too far. "Anyway, what is the Rampaging God of the Sea going to do now?"

He shot me a fierce look, to which I merely kept grinning, showing that I meant no harm. He didn't seem to care though and turned around. "I'm going back, that's what." He took a step towards the pool.

"Hey, wait!" I briefly panicked, bolting forward and grabbing his arm. I had a second to marvel at how strong his muscles felt underneath my fingertips before he whirled around, teeth bared. I flinched slightly but held my ground, looking up at him. "Wait a minute, Susano'o. Don't you want to talk?"

It was in that moment that I realized just how lonely I really was, if I was asking a _god_ to stay and talk with me, if just for a few minutes. Humans I had no trust in, so why was I going to a god, who was equally capable of lying to me? Was I just that desperate?

Susano'o paused, looking down at me with an unreadable expression. I shifted slightly under his gaze, looking to the side and silently praying that he might stay.

"...What were you talking about before I appeared?"

I looked back at him, blinking in surprise. _He's staying?_

"O-oh...I was just venting about my classmates. They don't want to be my friend, they just want to find things out about me to hurt me. They're constantly sending people at me to do so." I took a step back, giving us both a little space.

"And what did you do for them to do that?" he asked.

I gritted my teeth at the memories. "Nothing they didn't do to me. One of the girls pretended to be my friend, only to turn around and steal the guy she knew I had been interested in, and then decided that it wasn't enough." I kicked a stone near my feet, tone bitter.

Susano'o stayed silent, merely listening to me as I kept talking, rambling on and on about how my classmates were jerks and such, venting for about ten minutes straight before I noticed that he hadn't said anything to me, just was watching me with those golden eyes. I stopped the pacing I'd been doing and blushed slightly, looking away.

"Sorry. This is probably pretty boring to a god..."

To my surprise, I saw him shake his head out of the corner of his eye. I looked back and raised an eyebrow at him. "You mean to say me complaining about everything wrong with my life to you isn't making you want to run from how dull it is?"

"No. I actually don't have anything else to do tonight."

That stung a bit. He was listening just cause he was bored? _Well,_ I thought to myself, _better than nothing..._

"Well, I'm done with ranting now," I said, then stopped. "Wait, what time is it?"

"After sunset, why?"

"Oh _shit!_" I shouted, turning on my heels. "I missed the sunset?!"

Bitter disappointment filled me. "And it looked like it'd be a pretty sunset too..." I muttered, depressed.

"You like to watch the sun go down?" I heard a slight thread of interest in his voice, and I turned my head back to him.

"Yeah. I really like to watch it over the ocean too. It makes the whole thing better." I couldn't help but smile. "And each one's different as well, so it's like an entirely new experience each time. It helps me relax after a long day."

Susano'o regarded me then, his golden eyes looking right into mine. I stared back confidently, once again finding myself drawn into those depths. _What mysteries is he hiding..._ I wondered, slightly entranced.

He blinked, and the spell broke at once. The blue-haired god turned his back to me and shrugged. "I'm going back now, if you're done then."

I felt a slight twinge of disappointment. Even he'd only been listening necause he'd been bored, at least he'd listened to me. Then he surprised me when he turned his head and looked at me again.

"If you need to vent again, just come here and start talking. I may or may not turn up."

My mouth dropped open slightly, and I stared at him. Then I broke out in what had to be the silliest grin I'd ever cracked in my life and nodded. "I will! Thank you, Susano'o-san!"

Susano'o nodded and stepped back in the pool, where the water instantly stilled underneath him. He raised his arms slightly, and the water surged upwards and surrounded him for a few seconds before dropping back into the pool, and he was no where to be seen.

I ran over to the lip and peered into the pool, surprised to see the back of his head for a few seconds before the image vanished, and all I was looking into was a deep, bottomless pool once more.

I couldn't help but smile more as I rose to my feet, dusting my skirt off and turning around groping my way through the cave towards the exit, not really caring if I stumbled on anything in the floor or scraped up my hands while feeling around for my things. I felt great after venting that much, like a weight had been lifted. It was a feeling I hadn't had in a very long time, and it was refreshing.

Finding my bag and scrambling out of the cave, I did a quick sweep of the area to make sure that this place was still unknown to others before starting the walk back to civilization, tilting my head back as the night sea breeze caressed me.

_Perhaps I'll come back tomorrow..._ With that thought, I stepped up the pace, eager to make it home and in a well needed bath.

* * *

"I'm home," I called out as I entered my apartment, knowing that I would be met with silence. I flicked the lights on and dropped my school bag by the door, kicking off my shoes and heading right for the bathroom. Stripping my clothes off, I put them in the wash to clean (since my shirt was still wet from the earlier water incident) while I bathed myself, letting the hot water relax my muscles.

After I got out I towel dried my hair as I walked to the kitchen, seeing a little red light on my telephone's answering machine. I grimaced, taking a guess of who it was as I went for the fridge and took out a gallon of milk and chugged a good bit of it, gasping for air when I was done. I pulled out some leftovers from a few nights ago and popped them into the microwave I had and went to the machine and pressed the button.

_*Beep* You have, one, message. *Beep* Hi sweetie, it's mommy!_

"Here we go..." I grumbled, shaking my head and listening anyway.

_I hope you're doing fine by yourself. I put some more money in the bank, and I'm not going to be home this weekend either._

Predictable. My mother and father were divorced, and my mother often worked out of town, following a line of jobs that took her farther and farther away from home. I was used to it by now, but it still didn't stop the disappointment I felt when I heard those words once more.

_You be a good girl and I promise to be home soon. Bye! *Beep* End of message. To repeat, press 1. To delete, press 2-_

I hit the number 2, turning back to the microwave to get my food. I sat on my futon and turned the tv on, checking the weather for tomorrow. While the people on the little box talked, I thought back to what had happened.

A god. I'd met a god in the flesh. For some reason, it didn't damn on me like I thought it would have. I wasn't filled with awe, mostly I had just been surprised. I pursed my lips and munched on my food quietly. I wondered what he was doing now, since I wasn't talking his ear off about my problems as a human.

It never occurred to me that while I was venting, I had learned nothing about him. I frowned. He was a handsome man, that was for sure, and his prickly attitude and standoffish ways sort of drew me in, made me want to see what exactly he was hiding.

I couldn't help but grin then. "I can't wait to see you again, Susano'o-san..."


	3. The Pearl

_And even guilt will return to the prologue_

_Dissolving and accepting the fact that I'm not alone_

_Yosete wa kaesu tsumi sae_

_Hitorijanai to uketome tokasu_

* * *

_"I can't wait to see you again, Susano'o-san..."_

***bee-bee-beep* *bee-bee-beep* *be-***

I slammed my hand on the alarm as hard as I could, groaning in frustration. I opened my eyes and glared at the offending object, wondering why I hadn't thought to turn it off the night before so I could sleep in on the weekend. Sighing heavily, I slowly rose to my feet and tottered towards the bathroom, picking up the remote from the coffee table and turning on the television as I passed.

The morning news came on, and I half-heartedly listened while I brushed my teeth, yawning loudly every other minute. Once my teeth were cleaned and my hair was brushed, I walked back to the futon and sat down on it, wondering what I was going to do today.

Normally on the weekends I'd go back to school and study, but today I just didn't feel like it. I'd already had a cram session the night before last, so I felt well prepared for the next surprise test that showed up with surprising frequency in my classes.

Other than study, there wasn't much else that I could do.

_You could go to the beach and look for shells,_ my mind offered, and I couldn't help but smile. I hadn't gone shell-hunting in a long time now, since school had started up again. And from the look of the weather it would be a perfect day to do so. My mind made up, I hopped up and slipped on a good pair of shirts and a shirt with long flowing sleeves that ended just past my elbows. Whenever I wasn't in uniform I wanted to feel my clothes move against me in the breeze, so most of my shirts were loose fitting, enough that I usually wore a tank beneath them.

Slipping on my beach sandles and grabbing my shell hunting bag, as well as my other necessities, I headed out of my apartment and headed in the direction of the beach, about a half an hour walk in total. I was glad my mother had the foresight to be so close to the beach when we moved into the place, otherwise I'd have long since lost it.

Humming as I walked, I looked up at the bright sun and lifted a hand to block most of the rays, eyeing the few white clouds that dotted the horizon. No rain clouds, just as the weather had predicted. Glad of that, I stepped up my pace, eager to be there already.

* * *

"Ah, it's so pretty today!"

I couldn't help my happy exclamation at the sight of the sparkling blue sea, the waves lapping the shore gently while the sun warmed the sand. Hopping over the guard rail as always, I headed towards my little pile of rocks, only to pause and frown.

There were people on them. A family, with their youngest child playing in the surf with his big brother watching over him with a fond smile. The two adults were on the rocks themselves, chatting and relaxing in the sun.

A slight twinge made itself known as I watched them, calling up a few near forgotten memories of when my own family was happy like them. One of my first memories was being on the beach, my father holding me in the waves and laughing as I squealed in delight...

"Tch." Grimacing, I walked past the family without looking at them again, following the bunch of rocks that were still strewn about at random, recalling my last path through. Hopefully the area around the cave would have some nice shells.

I reached there more quickly than the last time I'd been, when I'd found it about three days ago. The small pile of rocks looked very unassuming in the daylight, much to my surprise. If I hadn't of found the entrance before hand, I'd probably have walked on past it without a thought.

I peered inside the cave to make sure there was nothing in there, and slipped inside carefully, determined not to hurt myself this time. I placed my belongings to the side of the entrance before clambering back out with only my shell bag, mentally noting to find an easier way in and out of there. I didn't want to keep scratching up my hands and knees unnecessarily.

I looked around the edge of the water, inspecting all the crushed shells and random rocks for whole, pretty shells, finding several pearlecent ones off the bat. Grinning happily, I scooped them up and placed them in my bag before continuing, even daring the gentle waves to pick a few prime pieces up.

It was a silent goal for me, to find a pearl. I didn't know what I'd do with it once I found it, but damn if I wasn't going to find it before I grew too old to wander the beach anymore. It was one memory of my mother I'd always held dear.

I had just picked up a promising oyster that looked just right when the wind blew strongly against my body, causing the waves to grow a bit larger than they were supposed to. Surprised, I looked up and frowned. _Where had those clouds come from...?_

I looked around I saw that the few people who had been on the beach down a few ways had long since gone, and that I was the only one who remained. With a sigh I peered at the clouds, taking a guess that it was going to rain for a while before clearing up.

My mother often joked about my penchant for predicting the weather, especially since it had been mostly right. I placed the oyster in my bag and headed for the cave, knowing I wouldn't make it to another shelter before the rain hit. As I slid inside and grabbed my pack, I heard it start to come down. I couldn't help but smirk at how I was right.

Wondering what I should do while it rained, I looked towards the back of the cave, debating. "Well, he did say when I needed someone to talk to," I said to the air. "Now's a good a time as any." Shrugging slightly, I headed back through the cave.

It was easier to navigate through the cave during the day, even with the clouds covering the sun. I also managed to squeeze through the narrow parts with relative ease this time, and I briefly wondered if they'd widened since I'd last been here. Dismissing the thought, I slipped through the last passage way and into the pool room.

My breath caught in my throat at the beauty of the small space, a smile forming on my lips as I placed my things down and walked over to the pool to look into it. It appeared as bottomless as it had before, but as my eyes adjusted to the dancing light, I noticed that I could very barely see the bottom.

_I wonder..._

"Susano'o-san? Are you in there?" I called out, eyes closely watching the surface as it rippled.

Nothing.

"Susano'o-san! Oi, are you there!" I tried again, raising my voice louder, just in case.

...Still nothing.

Pouting some, I flopped myself down at the edge of the cave and sighed. _He did say he _may_ come by...he's probably busy with god things._

The sound of the waves gently moving in the pool drew my attention, and I listened as I began to relax. It seemed to be urging me to talk again, just like last time. Smirking, I decided to oblige.

"Well, it's been a few days, neh? I'm here at this time because I don't have school today, and I've already studied for any quizzes to come."

The water stirred a tad more at the word 'school,' which I found just a bit odd before I kept on.

"I came here to shell hunt today, and I found a nice amount. I didn't even have to go that far from the cave either, which is nice. Especially since this surprise storm came up."

I noticed a flicker of a shadow across the water, like what had happened before. I perked at the sight and stood up, looking at the water. "Susano'o-san? Are you there now?"

I half expected for silence to meet me, but to my surprise and delight, I heard his voice.

"Yeah yeah, I'm here. Give me a second, woman."

The waters stilled in the pool, and then glowed brightly. I closed my eyes till it faded a few seconds later, opening them and grinning at the god who stood before me. "I was wondering if you'd show up."

"Hmph. You certainly took a few days to come back, I thought you'd not show up again." He crossed his arms and regarded me, less hostile than our last encounter together. Susano'o's eyes fell on my belongings and an eyebrow quirked. "What are those?"

I looked behind me. "Oh, those are what I brought along to hunt shells with. Nothing much." I shrugged, turning back to look at him.

It was silent for a few moments as we looked at each other, minus the sound of the ripples in the pool. I was about to open my mouth to say something, but he beat me to it.

"Well, are you gonna talk, or was this a waste of my time?"

I gave him a bit of a glare, then walked over to the edge of the cave and sat down again. "C'mon, no point standing while we wait for it to stop raining out there."

"So you're only here cause of a storm?" Susano'o shook his head, but made his way over and sat down a few feet in front of her, golden eyes showing boredom.

"Actually I had planned to come in anyway, the storm just made me do it earlier than I was going to," I huffed. He was so rude at times.

Not even acknowledging what I said, he pointed at the bag of shells. "Those the shells you got?"

I nodded and opened the bag, pouring the contents in the ground in front of us. It was a good number too, with many intact pieces.

"Huh, this is a good collection," Susano'o said, picking up a bleached clam shell with a slight crack on the side, flipping it over to get a better look.

I couldn't help but grin. "So the God of the Sea like shells?"

"Shut up, it pays to know what you rule over. Something you humans never learned in history." The blue haired god rolled his eyes, to which I snorted a laugh.

"True there. Oh, there it is." I picked up the oyster I'd found earlier, smiling. "I hope it's in there..."

"What's in there?" he asked, looking up at the bivalve with disdain. "It's just an oyster. You eat them?"

"No, I look for pearls in them. I know there's not much of a chance in finding them on shore, but it's a goal of mine to find one." I flipped the oyster in my hands, inspecting it for any kind of flaws in the shell, eyes lighting up when I found none. "Maybe this one has it."

"A pearl?"

I nodded, looking up and seeing an expression of interest on his face. "Yes, the one my mother promised was in here."

Susano'o blinked, giving me a look like I was a moron. "Your mother promised you a pearl you had to find on your own?"

I scowled at him, clutching the shell tightly. "It's a special memory of me, before her and my dad divorced. I'm going to find that perfect pearl before I grow old, I will!" My voice heightened with determination.

He reguarded me carefully, one eyebrow raised. "Then why don't you go ahead and see if there's one inside of there then? Stop stalling and look already."

"...Fine." I looked down at the oyster in my hand, grabbing a small knife I kept on me to aid me in opening the stubborn creature up. For a brief moment I hesitated, sent a prayer up just in case, and pushed the knife in, prying it open. Biting my lower lip, I moved the shell and blinked.

"...Well?" Susano'o growled slightly, tone impatient.

"...I found one."

"What?! I don't believe you."

I turned the oyster around to him to show him, feeling a little numb. Laying on the oyster meat was...one very small, sickly yellow pearl, no bigger than my pinky nail. And I have very short nails.

The god blinked at it and shrugged. "Looks like you got it a few years too early."

"Tch." I grimaced and put the oyster aside, full of disappointment. "I should have known she'd lie about a perfect pearl..."

"Oi, what's with the obsession with perfection? You got a pearl. It's small, but it's still one."

I nodded, half smiling. "You're right, I'm lucky to have found it. But...I guess my expectations were too high for a shore pearl."

Susano'o reguarded me for a few silent moments before turning my attention back to the other shells. "What all can you identify out of these?"

Blinking, I sat up and started to point out the ones I knew, and he told me some that I hadn't known before. Honestly, I was grateful for the distraction. Yes, I'd found a pearl, but my mom had told me that every pearl was perfect. And that tiny, yellowed, barely there one was very disappointing to me. _Perfect one my eye, mother..._

"Oi, you still in there?"

A pair of fingers snapped me back to reality, and I shook my head to clear it. "Yeah, sorry. Lost my train of thought."

"Sheesh, what's so important about that memory that it makes you so depressed?"

I frowned at him some. "It's something my mother told me when I was very young, when I still had my father around. Before our family fell apart. Don't you take some of what your mom says seriously?"

A dark expression crossed his face, and Susano'o turned his head and glared at the wall. "No, I don't. The goddess who looked after me died after falling off of a cliff."

I felt shock resonate through me. _They can die?_ I suddenly felt very, very awkward.

"O-oh...I'm so-"

"Don't tell me you're sorry!" he snapped, making me flinch back. His golden eyes were lit up with anger, but underneath...pain. He still felt for the goddess that had died. "You don't know anything, human!"

Gritting my teeth, I pushed myself forward and practically into his face, taking him by surprise. "Then why don't you tell me something about you? That way I _know_ what to and what not to say, Susano'o!"

I stared into those shocked eyes for a few seconds before pulling back with a huff, reaching over and grabbing the pearl from the oyster and rolling it between my fingers. "I've told you several things about me, Susano'o-san. Why don't you let me know something about you?"

"...Takeru."

"Eh?" I looked up at him, noticing that he was looking over at the side, arms crossed. _He looks like a pouting child._

"Totsuka Takeru. Call me that instead of Susano'o," he clarified, glancing at me with disdain. "It's easier, and I'm used to it."

"Oh...alright then. Call me Yukino then." I grinned at him, glad that I finally had gotten something out of him.

I looked back down at the pearl in my fingers, wondering what I could do with it. It was so small that I feared cleaning it to remove the yellowing. With a shrug I pulled out a small box from my pack where I stored the smaller things I found on the beach, placing the pearl gently on the inside and setting the box down beside the rest of the sea shells.

"You're going to keep it?" Susano'o - no, Takeru - sounded surprised.

"Yeah. It's the first pearl I've ever found on my own. Why wouldn't I?" I smirked at him. "It's small, but it's still special."

He snorted slightly. "Small and special? You're one strange human."

"And you're one strange god. You're not the calm, benevolent being people make gods out to be," I pointed out with a smirk. With his brash and loud ways, it was no wonder that I'd heard him nicknamed the Rampaging God.

"If you're looking for that, talk to my brother. He's the god of the moon, Tsukiyomi."

"Seriously?" I smiled, perking up. "That's cool!"

Takeru, much to my surprised, grinned back. "Yeah, and he's got a rabbit. Well, a lot of rabbits, but this one in particular has a name. I gave it to him." I sensed a thread of pride in his voice.

"What's his name?"

"Usamaro."

And it went on like that. As I grouped the shells I had into types we casually talked about things, from his brother the Moon God to my mother to the fact that we both liked to walk along the beach to calm ourselves. Up until a point I could distantly hear the rain falling outside the cave, but as I got absorbed in the conversation we were having, I didn't realize it had long since stopped until he mentioned something about it.

"Weren't you waiting on the rain to stop so you could go back on the beach?"

"Hm? Yeah, why?"

Takeru looked at me. "It stopped raining about half an hour ago."

Surprised, I listened for the sound of rain, only to hear just the sound of the rippling pool. I frowned just a bit - I was having a lot of fun just talking with him, so much so that I was actually reluctant to leave.

"What's with the frown?"

I looked back at the god sitting across from me, wondering when he'd scooted so that he was no more than two feet in front of me. "Oh, I just lost track of time. It's nice actually talking to someone about little things, I don't do it a lot. I've really missed it."

Takeru looked at me in the eye, as if reading me. I fidgeted slightly under that gaze, looking back with my own ocean blue orbs. _What is he thinking right now...?_

He reached forward suddenly and grabbed my tiny treasures box and opened it, peering inside. I sputtered a slight protest as he pulled the yellow pearl from within and held it up to inspect it. "Wh-what are you-"

"Shut up," he snapped. His hand curled around the pearl in his palm and he closed his eyes, muttering something under his breath. I stayed still as I felt the hairs on the back of my neck raise up in premonition, watching the god silently.

A soft blue light came from his palm after a minute, and his eyebrows furrowed in fierce concentration. I thought I heard the whisper of the waves in his voice, and almost swore I heard the rumble of thunder as he mumbled. I watched, entranced, as he finished whatever it was he was doing and opened his golden eyes to meet mine.

Takeru extended his hand to me, holding the pearl in his fist still. Wordlessly, I reached my own out to recieve it, only to gasp as it fell from his palm to mine.

Instead of the pitiful, yellowed speck that it had been a minute ago, this pearl was a pure gleaming white, perfectly round and reflecting the dancing light of the cave. I held it closer to me, mouth agape at the stunning little miracle that had just happened.

"You can use that to reach me if you want to make sure I come," Takeru said then, making me jerk my gaze up to him. "Just whisper my name three times with it to your lips, and I'll hear you."

He looked like what he had done was no big deal, but I felt the slight pricking of tears behind my eyes, which I ferociously fought back. Rubbing my eye with the back of my hand, I gave him a large, heartfelt smile.

"You have no idea how much this means to me...thank you, Takeru-san."

The God of the Sea merely shrugged and rose to his feet, heading back to the pool. "Try to stop by more frequently as well," he said over his shoulder, glancing back. "You're actually amusing to talk to."

I couldn't hold back a giggle at that, shocking myself with the girlish sound. The blunette just smirked and stepped into the pool, vanishing back to his own world for the time being. Looking down at the perfect pearl, which was now the size of a marble, I couldn't help but feel happy.

I gathered everything back into my pack and slipped back out of the cave, looking up at the slightly clear skies, noting that it was only barely after noon. Feeling hungry, I headed back towards the city, my mind already flowing with ideas of how to keep the gift Takeru had given me close, and so that I'd never lose it.

As I bought some vendor fare, I watched as other humans passed by me, all absorbed in their own lives. I grinned to myself.

After all, not many people would be able to say they'd befriended a god.


	4. The Daily Life

_I don't know of eyes_

_this so much, so much straightforward_

_Konna ni mo konna ni mo_

_Massugu na me o ore wa shiranai_

* * *

Two days later I was walking towards school in the morning, sighing slightly to myself as I went. I hadn't been able to go to the beach the day before, as the weather decided that it needed an encore of the rainstorm the day before and had kept it up all. Day. Long. Not that I had any problem with the rain, I just had a problem with not being able to visit the beach.

There was one upside to being stuck at home. My hand lifted to the new adornment that lay around my throat, my index finger softly stroking the beautiful pearl that Takeru had given me. It now stayed in a tight clasp of silver wire connected to a lovely turquoise band that I had fashioned into a choker.

It had taken quite a bit of trial and error and a lot of internet searching to find out how to get the pearl to stay there without having to drill a hole in it, something I refused to do completly.

My thoughts kept wandering as I walked up the path in front of the school, subconciously knowing which way to go to get to my class, 1-B. I sat down in my seat in the far left of the room, second in row and next to the window, only with a perfect view of both the outside and the blackboard. That way if I knew what was being taught, I could just daydream.

I pulled out the books and notepad that I would need for the first few lessons silently, feeling a pair of eyes on me the entire time. I didn't have to look to know who it was either, as we'd been in the same classes for years. At first it had been a relief, to have a friendly face among strangers, but only after the betrayal did I truly regret having to see her every day.

Yamato Nayomi. A very plain, unassuming name for a rather plain-appearing girl, with her straight black hair with its very strictly kept bangs, and her dark, nearly black eyes that darted around, as if she was nerveous. But if you got to know her like I had, you'd be surprised at what hid behind that ordinary facade.

She was the one to make friends easily, able to charm most shy people into her little circle, if not by wits then through determination. Once she had decided to make you one of her 'friends,' you were going to be one.

However, woe to those who lost her favor, as I had. Then Nayomi was one of the coldest, most unforgiving people around.

I flipped to the lesson I knew we'd be focusing on today, keeping my outward appearence as normal as I could, with no interest in anything but my studies. It was how I kept her at bay, how I kept her from further delving into my life and stirring the pot of discord. She had done it too many times before, and I was not going to give her another chance to ever do that again.

As I skimmed over the contents of my textbook, I heard the slight scrape of a chair and the soft sound of footsteps heading for me. _Here we go with the morning interrogation,_ I mentally sighed, keeping my eyes on the space in front of me.

"Good morning, Yukino-chan~!" Nayomi sing-songed the words, and I had to grit my teeth slightly. She knew I hated that.

"...I said good morning, Yukino. Why won't you ever answer me?" I heard the pout in her tone, like I was the one being mean.

I flipped the page, thinking of things other than the annoyance beside my desk.

She hummed slightly, taking a peek over my shoulder at what I was looking at. "Oh, is that what we're going to learn today? It looks so interesting~"

_Yes, because trigonometry is just _so_ fascinating..._

"Think I can take a look at your notes after class? You always take the best notes, always easy to understand..." Ah, there was the bait. Nayomi code here. Always easy to understand equals I can read you like a book, and you can't hide anything from me.

I didn't even acknowledge her presence, studying the new formula we'd need in the near future.

"...That's new necklace you've got there. Where'd you buy it from."

I immediately stiffened, the cursed myself at once for reacting. The satisfaction practically rolled off of her in waves now, and she kept it up like a fly around a pile of fresh crap to investigate.

"I mean, I've never seen such good craftsmanship. Did you make it yourself, I know you're really good with figuring things like that out. And that marble looks cool too, almost like a real pearl!" The false sweetness in Nayomi's voice grated on my nerves horribly. If only I could turn and use my textbook to knock her away like a mosquito...

Thankfully, the teacher walked in just as the bell rang, ordering everyone to return to their seats. I heard Nayomi pout before turning and going to her desk on the other side of the room, and I couldn't help but let out a silent sigh of relief. Now I was able to concentrate on the lesson, though a small voice in the back of my head warned me that she wasn't going to let this go so easily...

True enough, as soon as the lunch bell rang and I stood up to leave for my usual place to eat, Nayomi was there with that knowing smile on her face, two other girls and one guy lingering a few feet back to watch the 'fun.'

"Hi, Yukino-chan~" she said happily, putting her hands behind her back and tilting her head to make herself look cute. Why she insisted on the 'cute' facade, I'd never know. I did, however, know that this was going to be a massive pain in my ass.

"Move. I'm getting lunch," I said coolly, side-stepping around her and heading for the door with my pack.

A sharp tug made me stop and grit my teeth, and I turned my head to give her a not so nice look as she pulled her hand back from my sleeve.

"I really do like that necklace. How'd you make it? I mean, that looks like a real pearl! Surely you couldn't afford the real thing," she said ever so casually, poking at my lack of funds. Her daddy happened to be a thriving businessman, so what? My mother worked hard every day to make sure that there was money in the bank for us, and I only ever bought things I needed, very rarely splurging on stupid buys like she was wont to do.

"Google it," I said icily, turning and speed walking out of the classroom before she could stop me again. I headed for the cafeteria, intending to buy me a nice lunch, maybe some sweets if I had a bit of change left over.

As I reached for the cheap meals I could afford, another hand suddenly shot out and grabbed onto mine. Startled, I jerked my hand back and whirled to scold the person who had done that when I paused upon seeing them, and then swiftly turned away with a pain in my heart.

_Damn it, she _would _send him to get to me!_

Him being the guy I'd had had a crush on a few years back, Fujiwara Kouta. He was a good looking youth, tall and thin with well-kept light brown hair and dark green eyes. His sunny and kind disposition made him rather popular with our school mates, and most looked up to him when they were in need of something. It was him that Nayomi had oh so kindly whisked from my grasp and firmly made hers, insuring that I'd never be able to be with him without thinking that I'd been second best to him.

That one incident had knocked all reasons to trust anyone out of me, and since then she'd made sure I'd be miserable as she could make me, directly like coming to me herself, or indirectly, as was happening now as Kouta looked down at me with a friendly smile.

"Here, I'll pay for your food today. You've been eating nothing but those cheap meals for almost a month."

He was a kind boy, he honestly was, with the intention of looking out for others he considered his friends. Even after I'd iced him and Nayomi out of my personal life, he still tormented me with the occasional act of kindness, as he was attempting to do now.

"I'm fine, I can't make you pay for my food," I mumbled quietly, just not able to find the strength to shove him away as easily as I had Nayomi.

"I insist, you need the proper nutrients in your diet if you want to stay healthy. Here." He reached and plucked a delicious looking bento from farther up and placed it in front of me. My mouth watered at the sight of the bits of fresh veggies and meat that lay within, but I still shook my head.

"I-it's too much, I can't accept this."

"Come on, let's go pay." Ignoring my protests, he grabbed his own bento and gently guided me to the checkout. I watched wordlessly as he paid for both before handing one to me. I gripped it in my hands, suddenly feeling my face flush in embarrassment.

"Th-thank you," I murmured quietly, aware of a few stares directed in out direction. Without waiting for his reply I turned and hurried away, willing the sharp spike in my heart to stop making my chest hurt.

I made my way outside the building and found a small space in between a few statues to sit down, where no one could see or intrude on me. As I flopped to the ground, I glared at the cement below.

Why was Kouta so nice to me still? He had long known that I'd once liked him, Nayomi had made sure of that before rubbing it in my face rather gleefully. I'd told him once how it hurt me as well, in a small moment of weakness and desperation to get the pain to stop. He'd apologized, but every once in a while he still did little things that made me yearn for what could never be.

With a heavy sigh I opened the bento and started to eat in silence, listening to the sounds of my schoolmates chatting with each other in the distance. They talked to each other so easily, laughing and enjoying themselves without a care in the world. If it hadn't been for Nayomi, I would have been out there with them...I felt a twinge of jealousy.

Quickly, I shook my head to clear those thoughts away. It didn't really matter much anymore, as long as I focused on my studies and passed high school. Then I could get a job and help mom out so that she wouldn't have to work so hard to provide for us.

At this thought I frowned, a piece of veggie halfway to my mouth. What kind of job did I want to do after high school? What kind of career did I want to have? I felt a cold chill run up my back as I realized that I'd never thought of it before, and had no plan for the future to go on after I finished school.

Setting down my bento I pulled out a notepad and a pencil, immediately getting to work laying out what possibilities there were and which were the most likely paths I could take that I would excel in. I frowned down at the very short, not so promising list.

In the way of work, there wasn't much I wanted to do. Business just didn't interest me, and the prospect of waitressing gave me a bad taste in my mouth after hearing my mother's stories of her experiences. So what else was there for me?

I resumed eating to help myself think, conscious of the time I had left till the next class. There wasn't much I liked either, other than school and studies. I could try to be a teacher, but what would I teach? My extensive knowledge of shells and the two-faced ways of humanity?

I placed the empty bento box in the trash and picked my pack up to head back to class, feeling the midday sun on my back. I had a lot to think about, and only a few short years to think about it. I just hoped that I could come up with something before my time ran out.

* * *

The rest of the day passed rather uneventfully, though I did get some rather nasty looks from Nayomi. Figures that someone would have told her that Kouta had bought me lunch, the gossip mongers.

I lightly stepped down the steps at the front of the school and took an immediate turn towards the beach, feeling a need to have the warm sea breeze caress me and ease my troubles away.

Only the sound of footsteps coming up behind me brought me out of my thoughts, and I instantly paused and turned around, ready to glare at whoever it was, only to nearly choke.

_Why? Why won't he leave me alone?_ I thought frantically to myself as Kouta smiled down at me with that cute face of his.

"Hey Yukino-chan. Mind if I walk with you today?" he asked casually, and I felt my spine stiffen as I stared at this apparition before me.

_This can't be real, this just can _not_ be real..._

"U-um, I'm not heading to my house," I said quietly, hating myself all the more for not being able to push him away.

"Oh. I noticed you walked this way most days, so I thought you lived this way," Kouta mused aloud, scratching the back of his neck.

I shook my head, my white hair sliding in front of my face so I could hide it from him. "No, I usually go somewhere to relax and study the rest of the day."

"The library?"

"U-um, yeah..." Good guess, but not even close. However, there was no way that I was going to show him where I went at the beach. Him knowing would mean Nayomi knowing eventually, and I refused for that to happen to my last sanctuary.

_Well, my next to last sanctuary,_ I admitted to myself, thoughts straying to the Sea God as my hand drifted up to the pearl around my neck. Kouta followed the motion and blinked in surprise.

"Wow, is that a real pearl?" He leaned down to get a closer look, causing me to sputter and turn a little red at how close his face was to mine. "It's so pretty, Yukino-chan. It matches your hair too."

My mouth opened and closed, trying to form words that stuck in my throat as I took a step back. "A f-friend gave it to me a few days ago," I stammered out, swiftly turning around to hide my face in shame.

"Do I know them?" Kouta asked innocently enough, but the words hit me like a truck.

Shit, what had I just done? "No, they're not from school."

"Oh. Well, shall I walk you to the library today, Yukino?" he asked, noticing my quick rejection of the previous subject. _Thank the gods..._

"Yeah, sure," I muttered and started walking forward, mentally calculating what waling to the library would do. It was about a ten minute walk, which made it a ten to the beach as it was beyond the library, so I could see no real flaw other than my heart being ripped out by his mere presence.

He smiled and fell into step beside me, his longer legs keeping up with my short, quick strides. Thankfully he remained silent, allowing me to gather my thoughts a little bit and pull up my cool facade, if just a little bit. My thoughts still swam with questions though.

Why was he walking with me? Normally after school he and Nayomi would be together. Had something happened between them and he just wanted someone familiar to be around? Or was he just being this way because Nayomi had asked him to? It wouldn't be the first time I'd fallen for this trap. My defenses just didn't work with him around, despite my will for them.

"So, Yukino-chan," Kouta said, breaking the silence and drawing my attention. "What are you going to do after you're out of school?"

I couldn't help but sigh and shrug, giving in slightly to the temptation of talking. "I don't really know. Probably help my mom out and get a job somewhere."

"Ah, she's still at large?"

"Yeah. She keeps saying that she'll be back, but I don't get my hopes up anymore," I admited, a slight frown on my face. "I'm fine though, I've gotten used to living on my own now."

"I bet you're still eating pre-made food aren't you?"

My blue eyes jerked towards him, face heating up in mortification. "How did you...?"

"You've never been the best cook. Remember that year in home ec?"

Oh yeah. _That_ fiasco. I nodded and grimaced. "I still think they overreacted when that happened."

"Yukino-chan, you set a _rice-cooker_ on fire."

"It's not like I tried!" I protested, though I couldn't help but smile some at the memory. Everyone had freaked out, and my next-to-none knowledge of cooking had prompted the saying 'this isn't what normally happens?' from my lips. I'd yet to live that day down, and probably never would.

Kouta chuckled, making my heart squeeze tightly at the sound. _Why did Nayomi have to ruin my chances with this boy..._

"Well, at least I've got food in my belly and a roof over my head," I said as I looked back ahead, noticing the library coming into view. "You appreciate the simple things more, and you find yourself a lot happier."

He nodded, his brown hair moving at the motion. "A lot of people could stand to think that way. It'd make everyone a lot better."

"Like Nayomi?"

I instantly clapped a hand over my mouth in horror as the words slipped out, eyes wide as I stared at his surprised expression. _Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit!_

But to my complete surprise, he sighed and looked away. "Yeah, she could stand to appreciate the little things as well." His voice lost its usual pep, and I frowned.

"Kouta-san, what's wrong?"

The boy hesitated, as if unsure, glancing at me. "...She's been rather...unstable lately. I don't know if something has happened in her family life, or if something else is bugging her, but Nayomi-chan's been...well..." he struggled to find the right word.

"A bitch?" I decided to just cut to it; pretty words weren't going to change anything.

A slight nod of agreement immediately set me on edge. If he was agreeing that his girlfriend was being a bitch even to him, then something really big had to have happened. And when even Kouta was noticing a difference, it made me all the more wary.

Because it meant that Nayomi would be looking for someone to make even more miserable than she was.

Her sudden interest in me made more sense now. She was going for the familiar, the one she knew she could get under the skin of. Kouta's voice pulled me out of my thoughts.

"I mean, I've tried to cheer her up several times, but she just keeps pushing me away." The teen sounded genuinly wounded, and my heart went out to him a little. He was such a kind, caring boy, and never deserved to be iced out by anyone.

_Even by you?_ my mind thought mockingly. I ignored it and instead looked at him.

"It'll be fine, Kouta-san. Nayomi just needs to work things out on her own, just support her as best as you can." I offered a sincere smile to him as I gave him my advice. Even if it was Nayomi he was with, I just couldn't let him suffer without helping him a little. He was too kind a soul to let flounder in misery.

"You think so, Yukino-chan?" His green eyes lit up with hope, and I felt a sharp dagger in my heart as I nodded. _Damn you, Nayomi, for making this man stress out like this._

"I do."

A bright smile appeared on his face then, like the sun was beaming down from within. "Thank you, Yukino-chan! I knew I was right to come to you!" He was so happy just then that I offered my own small smile, just glad to see him back to his old self.

_I can be happy with just the little things in life..._

"I'll see you later, Yukino-chan," he said then, moving past where we had stopped in front of the library to where I assumed his house was. Kouta waved back at me heartily, still with that big smile on his face.

I lifted my hand and waved back politely till he disappeared, only then letting my frown return. I sighed heavily and trudged onward, needing the solitude of the beach now more than ever.

I'd just helped the one I still had lingering feelings for stay with my worst enemy. My mind beat me mercilessly, demanding to know why I had done such a thing.

_Why help Naomi? She's the one who made you this miserable every time you happen to see him!_

"Because," I murmured under my breath, seeing the glint of the afternoon sun on the ocean surface in the distance. "I just can't turn him away when he needs me..."

I knew that one day, the one fatal flaw in my facade would be my undoing. It was just a matter of time.


	5. The Sunset

_You might get hurt so I'll protect you_

_Holding up strongly with one swing_

_Kizutsuke tabun mamotte yaru ze_

_Tsuyoku kazasu hitofuri ni_

* * *

I swiftly found myself at the beach once more, gazing out over the blue waves as they lapped the beach. The breeze was stronger today, and my skirt whipped up dangerously high when I hopped the guard rail. I took my shoes and stockings off as usual and made my way down to the surf, letting the cool waters soothe my aching, both bodily and in heart.

Eyeing the sun in the sky, I knew it would be awhile before it would start to really show the colors I wanted to see, so I turned and started to head deeper down the beach, eyeing the rocks on the sand as normal. I don't know why I watched them, I knew the way already, even for just my third time heading this way.

_Maybe something will lunge out to get me,_ I teased myself, giggling slightly at the absurd thought. I splashed my way through the surf slowly, wanting to just take my time now that I was here. My hair flew back from my face as I lifted it up to catch the sun's warmth, silently thanking the sun gods for their blessing. Not too hot, not too cool. Just perfect.

The sand squished between my toes, and I wrinkled my nose a bit at the sensation. It was nice, but it still felt weird the first few times it happened. Another of the little details I loved about the beach.

_Little details, little things that make me happy._

My heart twinged again at the thought, and I muttered a curse under my breath. Was what happened earlier going to haunt me for the rest of the week? I hoped not; it would distract me from my studies far too much.

As I reached the cave and peered inside, I was surprised to see how much...wider it seemed on the inside. Curious I slid inside and set my school things down before walking back. I only had to turn to the side down the narrow passages now, not squeeze through like the previous times.

_Is it some sort of magic that let's me through the more I come here?_ I wondered to myself, slipping into the pool cavern and taking a moment to enjoy the lights dancing. I would never get over that first look in that beautiful cave, it was too breathtaking.

"Oi, you're late."

I let out a startled scream and whipped around quickly, jumping about a mile back from the source of the voice. "T-takeru-san!"

The Sea God was casually leaning against the rock wall beside the entrance, raising an eyebrow at my reaction. "You're awfully jumpy today. Something got you on edge, jellyfish?"

I put a hand over my heart, trying to calm myself down. "K-kind of...wait. Did you just call me jellyfish?"

"Yeah, so what?" The eyebrow raised a little farther, as if daring me to say something.

I scowled at him and crossed my arms, looking directly into his eye. "Why in the _world_ are you calling me that?"

A casual shrug of the shoulders was the only response given before he pushed himself off the wall, striding over to me and flicking me in the forehead. "Because you seem squishy like one."

"You know that I can still sting you though," I pointed out, rubbing my forehead.

"That's only if I get too close," was the retort, to which I rolled my eyes. Takeru was definatly not what one would call the poster boy of godly conduct.

"Whatever you say, sea monkey."

I did a mental victory dance at the sight of his jaw clenching. "What did you call me?!"

"Hey, you're the one who called me a jellyfish. It's only right I get to give you a nickname, sea monkey." I couldn't stop my grin this time as he fumed for a few seconds, those golden eyes glaring down at me. Then I remembered something.

"What are you doing here anyway? I thought I would have to call you here this time."

A heavy sigh passed the bluentte's lips and he stepped back with a shake of his head. "I thought I'd beat you to the punch is all. I had a feeling you'd show up anyway."

I felt myself being pleasantly surprised by the answer he gave. "So you were bored over in your world and came over to wait for me?"

"It saves time not having to travel through the portal at a whim," he said as he shrugged again. I smirked slightly at his rather off-beat way of saying that he was hoping to see me again.

"Well, since you're here, what do you want to do till the sun sets? Talk some more?" I asked as I walked over to the edge of the cavern, away from the happily rippling pool in the center of the space.

"Yeah, why not." Takeru followed me over and we both flopped down rather ungracefully against the wall, watching the light dance for a few seconds. "You went to school today, right? How old are you?"

"I'm seventeen, actually. First year in high school." I looked over at him. "Should I ask how old you are?"

He snorted at the question. "No you shouldn't."

I gave him a cheeky grin. "I got out of school not too long ago, that's why I'm still in my uniform. I'd have been here a bit earlier, but..." My smile faded as I thought of what had transpired earlier on the way here.

Takeru glanced over at my face, eyeing me carefully. "Something happened I take it."

"Yeah...I told you of the girl who used to be my friend, Nayomi? The one who took the guy I'd been interested in?"

I saw him nod, and took a deep breath before I started telling him of my day, of how Nayomi had been pestering me, of how Kouta had bought my lunch and then walked me to the library while asking for my advice. Takeru's expression flicked to different emotions ever so slightly as I talked, and I saw a hint of anger when I mentioned that I'd given my classmate the advice he'd been seeking.

"He knows you like him, yet he comes to you for advice on a relationship that just hurts you on the inside?" A disgusted snort came from him.

"I couldn't help it," I sighed, pulling my legs up to hug them while I stared at the pool. "Kouta-san's a nice guy, he really is. I couldn't stand to see him sad."

"Tch. You really are soft like a jellyfish."

"And how is that?!" I demanded, jerking my head around to glare at him, only to blink at how mad he looked right then.

"You'll sting anyone that comes from the wrong angle, but when they come from just the right spot, all the have to do is hit you where you're soft and you're a goner," the blunette said forcefully, rubbing the meaning of his words in deep. I blinked at him, too shocked to respond as he continued. "You need to stop letting him get close to you, even if he still likes you. All you're going to end up doing is make one big loophole for that other girl to strike in."

"I...I..." Words failed me, and I lowered my eyes from him in shame. "I know this, but how do I keep him away? I've tried t-to do it before, but he always finds a way around..."

I heard a frustrated sigh before his armor clinked as he leaned against the cavern wall behind us. "Some things you have to overcome yourself, jellyfish. Just keep being strong, and you'll find your way."

"But I'm not strong! I'm not a god like you that can just easily take care of their problems! I keep people away to keep myself from being hurt, that's not being strong. I'm a coward for not taking chances, but as much as I hate being alone, I hate being hurt by trusting others more!"

A sob left my lips, and I covered my mouth in embarrassment as I held the stinging tears back as hard as I could. I wouldn't cry in front of a god, I just couldn't.

"Oi, we can't always fix our problems all willy nilly like you think we can!" Takeru's voice was loud in his anger, those deep golden eyes icy as they were when I first met him. I found myself flinching back from him, biting my lower lip nerveously. He was seriously scary when he was mad.

Thankfully, he registered my reaction and lowered his tone, though I could tell it was barely controlled. "I have my own past and problems as well, some I still don't know how to handle that well. You humans are selfish to think that the gods can brush aside our own troubles so easily. _You_ weren't forced to go to a school with other gods to learn about humans, have your powers sealed away and punished when you tried to save a friend, thereby breaking the seal on your powers."

I blinked back my tears, looking at him in a slightly new light. Even though he was a god, he'd been forced to do something against his will? To endure punishment for using his powers to save a friend? It sounded like that would be impossible, he

seemed too strong to bend to another's will.

"Y-you went to school...to learn about humans?" That part alone threw me for a loop. _Gods go to school?_

Huffing, he sat back against the wall. "Yeah, and I had to go with this annoying weed as well. Human girl, Kusanagi Yui."

He may have been trying to hide it, but I heard the thread of affection in his voice. Whoever this Kusanagi Yui was, she was close to him.

"She your girlfriend?" I asked, hoping to get a few details of this god's life.

To my disappointment, he shook his head. "Nah, she fell in love with another god. Lives with him now in his world." A casual shrug was given, but I could sense the lingering disappointment.

Unsure of how to deal with this situation, I hesitantly reached over and put a hand on his shoulder. Takeru's head jerked over to look at me, but I didn't move my hand. I offered a small smile.

"Seems we've both loved and lost to another, eh?" I tried to make my tone joking, but it fell flat. Thankfully, I got a smirk out of him.

"Yeah..."

We both sat there in silence for a while, watching the ripples in the pool dance as the light made pretty patterns on the walls. It was comfortable like this, being next to him. I didn't know why, but it was, so I didn't want to question it. But I did, however, have one more question for him.

"You want to go and see the sunset with me?"

Takeru turned his head to me, a slight smile on his lips. My heart tightened for the umpteenth time that day, but this one was different. It wasn't painful, something I wasn't used to. Instead I had to resist the urge to blush as I looked at him and smiled back.

We both rose to our feet and I showed him out through the cave, slipping through the spaces with ease now. I poked my head out and looked around to make sure that no one was around to see a god appear out of no where. I motioned for him to follow me and climbed up onto the rocks that made the roof of the game, sitting down in a relatively comfortable spot. Takeru clambered up beside me and settled in as the orange in the sky started to really show.

"I love watching the sunsets out here," I said with a happy sigh, leaning back on my arms.

"It is rather clear out here," Takeru remarked, looking down at me with a smirk.

I nodded and looked back up at him. "We're lucky in that aspect, it makes it so much nicer."

Out here in the open air with the fading sunlight I could see the Sea God's features much more clearly than while in the blue lighting of the cave. I averted my eyes towards the sea to hide the slight blush that dusted my features. _Why are gods so handsome? Or is it just him?_

We chatted casually while the sun sank before us, the breeze kicking up every so often to keep us cool as we perched on the rock formation. It was so natural that it didn't even register till much later on, how normal it was to just talk with Takeru. Granted, we kept teasing each other, as we insisted on the nicknames we'd given each other, but it was all in fun. I was disappointed when the sun finally vanished below the horizon and we both got to our feet.

"I guess I better head on home, I have to go to school in the morning," I said, sighing. Takeru smirked and, to my utter surprised, reached over and patted my shoulder.

"You'll make it through. I had to with a class full of idiots and a weed. I'm sure you'll be fine, jellyfish."

"Aye, because I have a sea monkey to look forward to meeting when school is over and done with," I laughed, seeing his eye twitch slightly.

"Sure, sure." The blue-haired god turned and slid into the cave entrance with ease, then tossed up my school pack. "I think you need this."

"Oh, thanks! I almost forgot it." I knelt down to grab it from him, sticking my head in the cave. Only he dangled it just out of my reach. I pouted. "Hey now, let me have it."

"Now why would I do that, jellyfish?"

"Because you don't want to be stung." I stuck my tongue out at him, earning a chuckle as he handed my bag over. "I'll be back tomorrow or the day afterwards, okay?"

"Alright. You better be there if you call me as well, I don't take to kindly to being ditched." With a smirk he turned and walked back to the pool cavern, hand waving casually in the air.

I smiled to myself as I pulled out of there and started walking home, a bounce in my step that I hadn't had before.

* * *

As Takeru stepped back into his own house through the portal, he noticed that he wasn't alone. Turning, he saw a purple haired man standing in the corner silently, waiting on him.

"Hey, bro." He grinned at his brother, the God of the Moon.

"...Where were you at." Golden eyes met gold, and the blunette looked away and shrugged.

"Just felt like going out and seeing places. It gets boring here at times. I'm tired, so I'll see you in the morning." Without looking back, Takeru quickly jogged out of there.

The Moon god watched as he went, a slightly thoughtful look on his face. His robes barely made a sound as he moved over to the pool that was edged by intricate rocks, lit by the small orbs of magic that hovered nearby. As Tsukiyomi looked in, all he saw was a bottomless pit of water, with no trace of what was on the other side.

"..." Shaking his head, he turned and followed his younger brother out, mentally noting to watch over him better. It wouldn't do for Takeru to get hurt, not at all. As he walked out of the Sea God's house he looked up at the now rising moon, feeling slightly curious as to where Takeru had been for the past few hours.

"It must be important for him, to be skipping his duties as a god."

* * *

Chapter 5 special, a shout out to my first reviewer **LilweenGalatrass** for her support, and the others who are following my story so far. Honestly I'm surprised at myself for actually being able to stick with the story thus far, as normally I fall off after a few chapters. But as my determination is still going strong, I'm going to give it my all on this one. I'm still new to the KamiAso fandom, but now that I'm playing the game, perhaps I can dive into it more.

I came here and noticed that there's a sad lack of Takeru stories, and this one had been swimming in my mind for a while now, so here it is, and going strong. Constructive criticism is encouraged, and if anyone can point out things I may have missed, like weak points in the story line, or any ooc happenings, do let me know so I may correct it.

Other than that, I hope you all enjoy my story! Oh, and a cookie to who can guess the song that I'm doing at the start of each chapter. It's just one song, not multiple, but that's the only hint you'll get from me. Ja ne!


	6. The Cave Paintings

_You're the only one I'll be loving  
__Even if it costs me my life, I'll engrave this oath  
__~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
Tada omae dake aishinuku  
__Chikai kizande inochi hatete mo_

* * *

The next day was turning out to be very disappointing, as it had been raining heavily long before I'd even woken up in the morning for school. I grimaced at the thought of not being able to go see Takeru without braving the wind and rain, but as I walked I noticed that it seemed to promise to let up, if only for a little bit. I sent a quick prayer to the gods that it would allow me to walk to the cave that day with no extra problems.

They seemed to have heard my request, for when school finally let out it wasn't raining anymore. It was still overcast, meaning that it wasn't done with the gloom just yet, but for now I had a chance to speed-walk to the beach.

On my way I paused in front of a convenience store, eyeing a few things they had. My mother had made a little extra money the day before, and had told me in a message to go ahead and spend it on whatever I wanted. Thinking of something, I went into the store, a happy grin on my lips.

My little detour took only about five minutes, but that apparently used up the small window I'd been given. I vaulted over the guardrail and practically ran towards the cave to avoid the steadily heavier downpoar, clutching my bag and umbrella tightly so they wouldn't get away.

I slid into the cave a little too quickly, however, and grunted as I landed on one of my knees. "Ow..." I felt the skin break and blood start to well up, but I chose to ignore it as I made my way to the Light Pool. Yes, I'd named it. It seemed deserving of a name, it was so beautiful. Plus, it was so special to me as well. Without finding it, I'd have never met Takeru.

I placed my bag down and closed my umbrella, shaking off the excess water to the side. I then took off my shirt, since no one was in here (I made sure that the Sea God wasn't present this time when I came in) and proceeded to wring it dry, hoping that the slight dampness around the edges of it wouldn't make me too uncomfortable.

Slipping it back on I took a look around at the space I had to work with. If my idea was correct, we should have enough for the walls...Nodding, I opened up the bag from the store and set everything up as quickly as I could, listening to the rain outside.

Once it was all complete, I stood next to the Light Pool and looked down at it, noting that the bottom wasn't there yet again. I lifted my hand to the pearl at my neck and closed my eyes, hoping this would work.

"Susano'o, Susano'o, Susano'o..." I murmured gently, head tilted down so the pearl would catch it.

I waited patiently for about five minutes before frowning. I'd done as he'd said, but there had been no change at all. Confused, I decided to try something else.

"Takeru-san? Takeru-san? Takeru-san!"

Almost immediately, the pearl warmed beneath my fingertips. I grinned in triumph and sat down at my place by the wall, feeling hopeful now that I thought he'd heard me.

A few minutes later the Light Pool stilled and started to glow, and not a few seconds later a familiar bluenette stepped out and looked around before noticing me sitting on a nice blanket on the floor.

"Hey jellyfish. I was wondering if you'd get it right," Takeru smirked at me, walking over and crouching down so we were mostly level.

"Nice trick you did there, sea monkey," I teased him, holding back a laugh. I patted the open spot on the blanket, indicating where he should sit.

"What's all this?" he asked as he flopped down ungracefully, armor clinking slightly.

"My mom made a little extra money, and told me to just go ahead and spend some of it, so I thought I'd make our day fun, since it's really raining outside." Takeru raised an eyebrow at me. "What? Come rain or shine, I'll head here if I want to," I huffed.

He mearly shook his head and looked down at the few things I'd bought. "What..." He reached down and grabbed up one of the packs of chalk I'd gotten, flipping it over.

"I thought we could decorate the cave a bit today," I said excitedly, grabbing another pack. "I also brough snacks and some stencils we can use."

A smile graced the god's lips, and I had to glance away to keep from blushing. _I wonder why he doesn't smile more, it makes him look so handsome._

"You think of some strange things, jellyfish. But if we can't do much else, it's better than nothing."

"My name _is_ Yukino, Takeru-san," I reminded him, standing up quickly and heading for the wall opposite us.

"I know, but you're still just a jellyfish." He followed me over, that cocky smirk on his face.

"Aye, and you'll always be a little sea monkey." I stuck my tongue out at him as he sighed. "Here, let's get started already."

We spent the next hour or so just drawing on the walls of the cave, filling it with all sorts of images. We unconciously agreed to draw sea creatures for the most part, and soon half of the cave had beautiful fish and coral reefs, sharks and even an undersea volcano. We chatted together happily while we worked, taking a break after we'd finished a whale together.

"I brought some sweet stuff too," I said quite happily, reaching for a pack of daifuku.

"Those have strawberries in them?" Takeru asked, reaching for some pocky.

"No, but that actually sounds good. Maybe I'll make those one day for us."

"I know one of the other gods, Hades, he loves strawberry daifuku,"

I paused while biting into one, looking at him. "Hades? Greek god of the Underworld?"

"Yeah, he was one of my classmates that one year I was in that school."

"So it's not just the Japanese gods out there?" I was extreamly interested in this.

Takeru nodded. "There's Greek, Norse, and Egyptian, to name just a few. Any gods that have been worshipped are real."

"Must be crowded in the heavens," I commented, earning a chuckle as he stuck a stick of pocky in his mouth.

"We all have our own worlds, otherwise it _would_ be too crowded."

I chewed on my daifuku, thinking on what I'd just learned. So many gods, and some of them had actually gone to school as well. It boggled the mind to even think of it. "How many gods were with you?"

"Well, there was me and Tsukito, my brother, three Greek gods and three Norse gods. Plus our Egyptian teached, Thoth, and another one I never found out about till he beaned my head and poured juice on my face." He grimaced at the memory, but I saw the amusement in his eyes.

"Why in the world would he do that?!"

"It was during a play. Loki was trying to stage a coup d'tat and Dionysus chased him right on stage, covered with a blanket and holding a bottle of stolen juice. Needless to say, chaos ensued." Takeru chuckled fondly at the memory, and I smiled with him.

"What play were you guys doing?"

"Cinderella."

"Were you the pr-"

"Stepsister."

"..." I eyed him, watching as he scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "So...you were Cinderella's stepsister..."

He nodded.

"..." An evil grin spread over my face. "You wore a dress, didn't you!"

Takeru sputtered and blushed slightly, glaring daggers. "I most certainly did not!"

"Oh my god, you did!" I fell back laughing at the image in my mind of this god wearing a dress. "D-did it have ribbons too?!"

"I'm not the one who made the damn thing!" he protested. Which meant ribbons were a yes.

I couldn't breathe I was laughing so hard now, rolling over onto my side to face away from the highly embarrassed bluenette. _Oh my god, a dress! A freaking dress!_ "Y-you just made my week, oh my god!" I tried to get some fresh air, choking slightly.

"It's not _that_ funny!" he protested loudly, gritting his teeth some. I slowly sat up and wiped my eyes, giggling like an idiot.

"I-it is though! You're the last person that I could ever see wearing a dress, Takeru!" Another peal of laughter left my lips, and I had to cover them to muffle it. I heard him sigh and shake his head at me.

"You find amusement in the strangest things. First it's doodling on the walls, now it's imagining me in a dress." He reached over and ruffled my hair some, making me scowl playfully and bat his hand away.

"I'll bet you look better than me in a dress," I teased, stuffing more daifuku into my mouth happily.

"And why wouldn't you look good in a dress?" he asked, eyebrow raised.

"Cause I've tried them before. They just don't work on me." No skin off my back, I preferred skirts and jeans anyway.

Takeru shook his head and snapped a piece of pocky in half, offering it to me. I took it and gave him a bit of my daifuku in exchange. So casual, not even having to ask, we just knew. It was comfortable around him, and I felt my barriers dropping the more time I spent with him. It didn't alarm me as much as I thought it would either. It just was.

After our snack break we took a moment to dip our feet into the warm pool water. I kicked the water in Takeru's direction in play, splashing a bit on the fur that hung there. He scowled playfully and kicked some back, and we both engaged in a water war with our feet, anything below the thighs fair game for a drenching. Laughter bounced off the walls of the cave, echoing as we tried to soak each other's legs.

When we were both tired of that we went back to drawing on the cave walls, realizing that most of chalk had been used up already. I offered to go and get some more, but Takeru said it was fine. "We just have to make the last few drawings count," he said with a shrug.

Now as I sat in front of the last bit of cave wall I was going to do, I wondered what to draw. We'd done lots of things already, and I wanted it to be special. I looked at the colors I had left: orange, purple, yellow, and some white.

An idea popped into my head at what those colors reminded me of, and I grabbed the orange, getting to work at once. I started humming while I worked, remembering a song I'd once heard, but I'd long forgotten the words. I heard Takeru pause in his work to listen to me for a minute, and I turned my head and smiled at him some. "What?"

"I didn't know you could sing," was all he said.

"I can't. I'm humming." I giggled before turning back to my drawing, humming away while the sound of rain sounded in the distance.

_Hope I don't have to go home drenched,_ I thought to myself idly, dusting off my hands when I was done. "You out of chalk as well?"

"Yeah, just finished," he said, standing up as well. I turned to look at his drawing and was surprised to see a purple figure under a full moon.

"Who's that?"

"My brother, Tsukito. And...you drew a sunset?" One of his eyebrows raised slightly.

"Yeah. It's the one we shared yesterday. I tried to get it exact as I could."

"That...actually looks just like it." I heard the surprise in his voice, and I couldn't help but feel rather proud. "Not bad, for a jellyfish."

And then he had to say something like that.

Scowling, I walked over and play shoved him lightly. "Sea monkey, don't make me sting you!"

"Like it would hurt," he snorted, though I saw him smile. "Hey, shouldn't you be heading home soon? It's long since gotten dark."

"Oh, yeah." Once again, I'd had so much fun I'd completely forgotten about time. "I better pack up and hope to get home before the rain gets heavier again," I commented, listening to the sound of the rain as it lightened up some. I bent down to gather up what was left of our snacks and the trash that was left behind, slinging my school pack onto my shoulder and grabbing my umbrella.

I turned around to see Takeru standing with his arms moving in the air, eyes closed in concentration and a light blue aura around him. I squeaked slightly in surprised, making his eyebrow twitch slightly in annoyance. Curious, I slowly got closer to him, the hairs on my arms and back of my neck standing up higher and higher the closer I got.

I stood beside him while he worked on whatever it was he was doing, watching the movements his arms made with interest. After a minute the aura around him faded and he opened his eyes, looking rather drained.

"There. You should be okay to walk home now," he said, even his voice sounding tired.

"What did you do?" The curiosity was eating me alive.

"I made the storm vanish by moving the currents of the ocean." Takeru shrugged like it was no big deal, but my eyes bugged out as I realized that I could no longer hear the sound of rain outside the cavern walls.

"Th-that...that's amazing!"

He smirked down at me when he heard the reverence in my voice. "I'm not the god of sea and storms in only title, you know."

I smirked back. "I know. I just didn't expect a sea monkey to be able to do it."

A growl escaped his throat and he suddenly wrapped an arm around my neck. I squealed in shock, and then started to struggle just as he started to give me a rather hard noogie.

"H-hey! Stop it, stop it sea monkey!" I laughed as I wriggled to get away.

"Only if you take that back!" Takeru responded, laughing some himself.

"Never!" I reached for his belly and wriggled my fingers there, trying to get him to let go. To my utter surprise, I felt the muscles jump as he let out an involuntary laugh and released my head. I stood there as he backed up, eyes now warily watching me.

"You're ticklish!" I exclaimed, an evil grin appearing on my face as I walked closer to him.

"Don't you even _think_ about it," he said warily, backing up a step.

"Too late, I know your weakness!" I declared a split second before I lunged for him.

Unfortunately for me, he saw when I'd tensed up, so he was able to catch me before I could get my hands on him. In one swift motion, the bluenette turned me around facing away from him and wrapped his arms around me tightly, pinning my arms at my side and holding me securely against his broad chest.

I froze in my shock, staring at the cave in front of me whlie my brain tried to register what had just happened. He kept a strong grip on me, making sure that I wouldn't be able to tickle him to get away. When I finally came to, I wriggled slightly to get more comfortable.

"U-um, Takeru-san?"

"No."

"...Please?" I turned my head to look back at him, blushing from how close we were to each other. I couldn't help but feel how warm he was through the fabric of my shirt, or notice just how pretty his golden eyes were when we only had a few inches apart.

Completely at ease and unaware of the awkwardness I was feeling, Takeru eyed me with caution. "Don't try to tickle me again," he said with only a slight bit of sincerity before releasing me.

I stumbled forward ever so slightly, brushing the front of my outfit while I tried to hide the growing blush on my face. _My back feels cold now,_ I realized, and wondered why I missed the warmth. "Th-thanks, Takeru-san."

He merely shrugged and helped me pick my school bag up again, ruffling my hair a little too hard. "Go ahead and start on your way home, the storm will probably come back in an hour or so."

"So it was a temporary fix to help me get home safe?" I asked, internally pleased to hear this.

"Well you are just a jellyfish. That soft spot of yours needs some protecting."

I poked my tongue out at him, then smiled. "I'll be back soon, okay?"

"You'd better. See ya."

Giggling, I patted his bare shoulder and turned towards the cave entrance. "Bye, sea monkey!"

* * *

I had made my way quickly to my apartment, keeping in mind that the storm would be coming back at any moment. I looked up at the familiar building as I approached it, noticing that the light wasn't on in there. _Still not home yet, mom..._

As I passed an alleyway I heard something stir, and I had barely turned my head before someone lunged out of the shadows and had clamped a hand over my face, smothering my scream of terror.

Before I could react any farther, the person dragged me into the alley and pinned me to the wall roughly. My eyes went wide in shock and I struggled to get away, biting at the hand that covered my mouth.

_Oh gods, what's happening?!_

A passing car rolled by just then, their lights bouncing into the alley and onto the person's face, and I felt my blood chill as my body froze, my ocean eyes staring directly into the dark, nearly black orbs of the other.

The hand was removed after a few seconds, but that cold, heartless smirk remained on their mouth. I felt anger stir inside of me, and I hissed in fury.

"What the hell do you want, Nayomi?"

"To talk," she said oh so casually, but the eyes never lie. I could see that she only wanted to vent whatever frustration she had going on in her life, and I was to be the anointed victim.

I snorted in her face, not caring if I was rude now. "Let me go, bitch. I don't have time for whatever you're wanting to do."

"Oh but you do, Yukino-chan~" she purred, patting my arm lightly. If this girl thought she could threaten me just because she was a few inches taller, she had another thing coming.

"No, I don't!" I suddenly shoved myself off the wall, throwing her off balance and making Nayomi stumble back. Using the chance I turned and bolted out of the alley and towards my apartment building, hearing her frustrated screech as she gave chase for a few hundred feet.

I threw up a quick prayer to the god of wind to quicken my escape, and felt a slight stirring of the wind behind me. I was no marathon runner, but if there was one thing I could do was sprint fast for a fair amount of distance. Bolstered by the wind, I put on some extra speed and made it to the opening of the building, punching in my code and darting inside. I slammed the door behind me, hearing Nayomi hit it not three seconds later.

"You bitch! Get back out here!"

I growled at her through the door. "Shut up, before you wake somebody up. I'm sure that you don't want your perfect little act of innocence ruined, now do you?"

She stopped banging against the door, and I smirked knowingly. "Yeah, there are other people around us now, Nayomi. So unless you want to cause a public interruption, perhaps you should just leave me the hell alone from now on. Go find someone else to torture from now on. _You can't get to me anymore._"

Silence from the other side. I waited, panting heavily from the exertion of the run I'd just done. _I so need to work out more..._

"Just you wait, Manabe Yukino. I'll get one one day. No one can escape me."

That sugary sweet, perfect little voice set my hair standing in primitive warning, even as I snorted in disbelief and turned around, walking up the stairs to my floor. "Whatever. Just leave me alone."

I unlocked the door to my apartment and closed it behind me, flopping down on the futon as I stared at the ceiling, wondering what had just happened. Nayomi had just taken me an _pinned_ me to a wall. Never, in the years I'd known her, had she resorted to violence herself, so something majorly bad had to be happening in her personal life.

_As long as she leaves me the hell alone after this, do I really care?_ The answer was obvious. _Hell no._

Sighing heavily, I undressed and did my nightly routine to prepare for the next day, pushing the instance to the back of my mind. No use worrying over something when I had more important things to think about. Like the test I knew was coming up in third period the next day.

_A good night's sleep and I'll be back to normal,_ I told myself as I curled up alone on the futon. The memory of being hugged from behind by Takeru flashed into my brain, causing a blush to rise on my cheeks.

"He was so warm..." I found myself muttering as my eyes drifted shut, sleep quickly claiming me after such an eventful day.

* * *

**And the cookie for guessing the song correctly goes to...AnimeKiwi369! *hands over nummy cookie* Yes, it is Chikai, Takeru's character song (I adore it so freaking much, though Anubis' song is freaking adorable).**

**Many thanks to my new followers and my silent supporters, as well as my reviewers. I shall continue to keep up with daily updates, though real life may get in the way the next few days, as I've got something funky going on with my body. O.o Ramen and rice diets tend to do that, I guess.**

**Tell me what you think, or just sit back and enjoy the story as it comes out. Either way, thank you for your wonderful support! Arias, out!**


	7. The Night Sea

_Carefully gathering the feelings I've become aware of  
__Hand in hand, the warmth was divided  
__~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*  
__Kidzuita omoi taisetsu ni sukui  
__Nukumori waketa te to te_

* * *

"-And then I shoved her off and ran to my apartment building. Got inside right before she could get to me."

I glanced over at the silently fuming god beside me, holding back a sigh. Maybe it wasn't the best idea to tell him what had happened two days before when I'd left.

I'd had to skip a day of visiting because of some surprise tests that made me question how well I knew my material, so I had dedicated a night to studying. I was still yawning some as I told the story, eyes slightly bleary.

"Why does she think you're such an easy target, jellyfish?" Takeru growled out, hands clenched into fists on the blanket spread underneath us.

"It's because Nayomi thinks she still knows me. Only thing is she knew who I _used_ to be, not who I am now." I thanked the gods for that, otherwise I'd been in a place worse than hell by now.

"What did she do when she saw you at school?"

"Nothing. She wasn't there these last two days," I said, hearing my own voice lower tone from the suspicion. I saw the same emotion reflected in those golden eyes I'd come to love watching, just for the expressions they showed.

"Something's not right with that," the blue-haired god muttered, biting into a pocky stick. He seemed to like those a lot. With a mischievous grin, I leaned over and bit at the other end of the stick, taking off a nice little chunk for myself and quickly pulling back. "Oi, that was mine, jellyfish!"

"You're the one who left it hanging from your mouth all unprotected," I laughed, waving the piece around before eating it happily. Takeru shook his head at my silliness and kept eating.

"Anyway, you better be careful from now on. That girl might be planning something she doesn't want to start with us."

I raised an eyebrow. "Us?"

A slightly embarrassed look crossed his handsome features, and he scratched the side of his cheek sheepishly. "Well, you might be tough enough to shove her and get away, but you'd be terrible if you got cornered. Jellyfish always are."

I scowled and smacked his arm playfully. I noticed that we'd gotten comfortable enough around each other that touching wasn't really an issue, though I still felt awkward at times when he pat my head or shoulder. It wasn't bad, but I just wasn't sure what to make of it.

Takeru chuckled, smirking down at me. "So what's been going on in school? You said you had to study last night, and it's obvious you're tired."

"Yeah, summer vacation's coming up in about two weeks, and there's a few tests that I have to pass before I can relax for the summer. I honestly can't wait, it means I can come to the beach every day!" I was giddy with excitement just thinking about it. One thing I always did during summer break was go to the beach every day. Granted, if I didn't wear any sun screen I turned as red as a steamed lobster, but I usually had too much fun to care.

"Does that mean I get to see you all day?" Takeru asked, grinning at me.

"Oh yeah. We can go shell-hunting, swimming, build sand castles...everything there is to do at the beach, we'll do it!"

"And what about off the beach?" he questioned, leaning a little closer with an interested look. "What will you do when you're not here?"

I blinked, caught off guard by his question. "Um, well..." I shifted slightly where I was sitting, thinking about it. "I honestly don't know. Most of my classmates will probably go do things like karaoke, or arcades, even shopping. I never bothered with those because I never had anyone to go with." It hadn't bugged me that much either, but now that he mentioned it...

Takeru tilted his head slightly, looking thoughtful for a minute. Then he stood up and offered a hand out to me, making me blink up at him.

"Come on. I want to show you something."

I hesitated for a second, wondering what exactly he wanted to do, but my curiosity was pricked now. I gently slid my hand into his, feeling the slight roughness to his palm as he pulled me up and headed through to cave towards the outside, all the while keeping his grip on my hand.

_My hand looks so small next to his,_ I found myself thinking, blushing while hurrying after him so I wouldn't stumble. He stopped at the entrance to the cave, turning and grabbing me around the waist.

"H-hey, what are you-whoa!"

I let out a terrified yelp as he suddenly hoisted me to the lip of the entrance, placing me on it before letting go. "Go on, I'm right behind you."

Flustered and blushing even more, I quickly scrambled out of the way and scanned the area, finding it empty. The sun had long since set, and the moon had risen a good ways into the sky, casting it's gentle glow on the earth below, washing it in blue, black and silver. I turned and saw Takeru climb out of the hold, dusting off the front of his armor carefully. A quick glance to me, and then he walked towards the surf gently lapping upon the shore.

I followed him to the edge, taking off my socks and shoes before wading out to where he was thigh deep in the dark waters. "Takeru-san, what are you doing?"

He was quiet, staring out at the shimmering waves as they reflected the moonlight. Nothing could really come close to the beauty of the Light Pool, but that was a special case. The outside world at night had it's own cool, silent beauty, and I found myself basking in it, eyes fluttering shut as I listened to the waves.

I could feel everything with my eyes closed. The way the sand shifted beneath my feet as the water gently swirled around my legs. The way my hair fluttered from the breeze that came off the dark sea, and the way I could sense Takeru's presence beside me, silent, but ever present and reassuring.

_Like a shield, sturdy and strong enough to protect me,_ my mind thought lazily, my entire being relaxing in the night.

We stayed like that for a while, listening to and feeling what nature chose to show us. But I was jolted out of my trance-like state when I felt Takeru's arms suddenly come around me from behind, tugging me close to his body. I unconsciously shivered at the sudden warmth around me, eyes snapping open as another blush appeared.

"T-take-"

"Shush," he murmured, clutching me tighter. I felt my heart start to race as I felt my own temperature rise, and I demanded that my body calm down, lest he hear or feel the change.

Thankfully, the Sea God remained oblivious. He slowly walked us forward into deeper waters, and I let out a squeak at the sudden chill against my skin as my clothes became wet. The water came to our waists, then our chests, and finally up to our necks. At this point I was craning my head upwards, so that I could continue to breathe.

"Take a deep breathe," Takeru whispered into my ear, staying absolutely quiet except to tell me what to do. Wondering where this was leading, I slowly inhaled as much as I could before holding it, lungs full to bursting.

"Now, whatever you do, don't breathe until I say so. Don't make a sound, or you'll scare them off."

_Scare what off?_

I barely had the chance to think that when he suddenly dunked us both into the freezing, pitch black waters.

A scream tried to escape my throat at once, but the sudden shock had also paralyzed my lungs, so no sound came even when my mouth opened to let it out. Not giving me a chance to adjust, Takeru swiftly pushed off the bottom and began to swim strongly towards the ever-darker waters of the deep, holding my body close to his and kicking his feet in a steady rhythm.

I shut my eyes to stop the sting of the salt water, not appreciating being submerged so suddenly. I briefly panicked when I remembered that sharks came close to shore at night, and I wondered what in the world this god could possibly be thinking.

My lungs were starting to ache after a minute, and I gently let out some of the pressure by blowing a few bubbles. I felt Takeru's arms tighten around me some, reassuring me as we went deeper and deeper into the dark, the moonlight barely illuminating what was a foot in front of us.

My heart was pounding in fear now, and I knew there was no way for him not to feel it with our bodies being this close. Despite the chill of the water around us, his body radiated heat, keeping me at least mildly comfortable during this odd journey he was taking me on.

Finally he leveled us out, and I felt my feet brush against the silky smooth sand of the seabed. I heard him mutter something, which surprised me into turning around and looking at him. My lungs were burning now, but I held my breath stubbornly, watching to see what would happen.

A few seconds after he uttered some strange words in a language I didn't know, a very light blue aura surrounded him, and then slowly extended to wrap around me as well. Entranced, I held my hand up and turned it over, inspecting the strange light as Takeru opened his golden eyes.

"You can breathe now, Yukino-chan."

I hesitated for only half a second before expelling the rest of my breath, immediately sucking in to get more air only to choke slightly at the water that filled my mouth instead. Only...it didn't truly fill it, only went slightly in, then was repulsed back. I blinked, and realized that I was breathing air somehow, and not suffocating on the salt water that surrounded us. I looked back at him, my mind buzzing with a million questions.

"Shh, it's just a spell." Takeru still kept his voice low for some reason, so I just nodded a response and tilted my head, letting my body ask instead of my voice.

In response, he held his hand open, and a small ball of aqua colored light appeared before floating up and illuminating some of our surrounding area. My eyes practically bugged out at the sight of what was in front of us.

_S-so many jellyfish!_

I couldn't help but squeak and back up into Takeru as a few of the stinging devils floated by my face. He patted my shoulder reassuringly before pointing to a certain spot in the jellies. I squinted my eyes, trying to adjust them to the dim lighting provided.

I vaguely saw a shadow moving among the swarm of carefree blobs, a small head darting out every once and a whlie to snap up one that got too close. The loud _clack_ of a powerful beak resonated in the water, and I suddenly realized what it was.

"A sea turtle." I turned my head and looked back at the Sea God. He nodded, a knowing smirk on his face as he looked at me. I turned my attention back to the graceful reptile as it fed. "It's so pretty..."

"It only comes up this close to shore late at night, when no humans are around," he explained, wrapping an arm around my shoulder and pulling me away from more free-floating jellies. I blushed for what seemed to be the millionth time that day, wondering why I was even flustered at all.

"This is amazing. How did you know they'd all be here?" I asked, carefully reaching out to a very tiny jellyfish that moved by pulsing its bell-shaped top. I smiled, thinking it was rather cute.

"They usually appear right around this time of year, before any of the currents change and take them elsewhere in the world."

"Amazing..." I murmured. I lightly stroked the top of the tiny jelly, pulling back and giggling as it flip flopped around at being disturbed.

"Watch out, they may not poison you, but their sting will hurt for a long time afterwards," the bluenette cautioned me, tugging me back into him. I squeaked when I realized that he was no longer standing, and instead was floating down to sit on the seafloor with me in front of him.

As we settled he pulled me more snuggly between his legs, and I resisted the urge to squeal like a tiny child at the motion. At this point I thought I couldn't get any more red, even my ears felt hot for god's sake!

But then he had to put his arms around my waist. It was a casual motion, with no intentions behind it other than comfort and companionship, but it made my brain go haywire. I bit my lower lip and shut my eyes tight, willing my body to kindly calm the fuck down.

_Why in the world is this happening? Why am I reacting like this to him?_

"Oi, you okay, jellyfish?"

I opened my eyes and turned around enough to look back at him, ocean blue eyes meeting polished gold. I swallowed my nervousness and told myself to relax, that there was nothing going on that was unusual. "I-i'm fine, thanks. I'm just not used to breathing in water."

He shrugged his shoulders, and I felt the muscles move against my back at the motion. _So strong...he has to work out regularly. But when?_

"It's a simple spell, though it's normally only meant for one person. So I'll have to take you back up to the surface in a bit. Let me know if you have any trouble inhaling."

Nodding, I turned my attention back to the turtle, surprised to see more coming out of the dark gloom of the night. They snapped up the jellies left and right, filling their bellies to their heart's content while lazily riding the currents the ocean provided.

It was an extraordinary scene I was witnessing, something I'm sure scientists would give their entire careers to see, and here I was with a god, casually bopping the stray jelly on its head as it passed by on the 'sea breeze.' I wondered to myself how I was allowed to be so lucky.

_It's because you like him,_ my mind responded, the inner voice sounding rather smug. _You trust him, and you like him._

I felt a sense of denial at the word trust, and a few of the turtles paused and looked towards us, as if sensing my thoughts and the direction they were turning. Startled, I let my mind go blank, and they immediately went back to feeding on the hapless jellyfish.

Slowly, I started to piece it all together. The way we were so comfortable around each other, the reason I always felt the need to tell Takeru everything that happened with me, good or bad, and listened to when he talked about himself. The reason I occasionally felt awkward when he touched me, and the blushing at the slightest smile he gave me.

_I've got a crush on Takeru-san._

The realization struck me like a bolt of lightning, and I couldn't repress a small sigh. I felt him shift behind me, could sense his eyes on me, checking to see if I was okay. Smiling a little, I casually leaned back against him, wriggling my bottom some to be more comfortable between his legs. At first he stiffened in surprise, but relaxed again and tightened his grip on me, reaching out with one hand to bop a jelly away from my face.

As we sat together at the bottom of the night sea, watching the last of the jellyfish, and also the sea turtles, disappear into the distance, I came to terms with my feelings. I didn't know how it happened, but I liked him as more than just a friend. I _trusted_ him, which was something I was honestly more worried about. The crush, however, I found I could handle to some degree.

_But...does he feel the same about me?_ I found myself thinking. I shut down that thought quickly, not wanting to stray into that path just yet.

"Come on, you need to get home and get some sleep," Takeru said suddenly, breaking the silence under the waves. His voice was garbled, but I at least could understand him. I nodded and let him help me up, holding onto his hand tightly.

"Here, wrap your arms around my neck." He turned his back to me, and I only hesitated a few moments before complying, pressing my front against his warm back and wrapping my arms securely around his neck.

"Hang on." The god pushed off from the sea floor with a strong kick and swiftly made his way back towards the shore, avoiding any stray jellyfish that had been separated from the swarm. I saw a lone turtle to the side, an old an injured one with a twisted flipper, slowly swimming and snapping up the stragglers in his powerful beak.

_What wonders he must have seen in his lifetime._

We broke the surface when we were able to stand about chest deep, and I gratefully took in deep gulps of the salt-tinged air. Takeru paused for a moment to let me gain a breath before swimming towards shore, slow enough for me to hang on tightly to his neck still.

I let go after we neared the beach, using my own two legs to stand. I almost fell over, shocked at how jelly-like they felt. The Sea God chuckled at my predicament before helping me gain my balance, much to my relief. We sloshed our way onto shore, and I grimaced at how drenched my clothes were.

"You wouldn't happen to have an auto-drying spell, would you?"

Takeru shook his head, much to my disappointment. "I can pull as much water as I can from off of you, though."

"Good enough." I held out my arms and waited for him to do his magic. With a slight gesture of his hand, quite a bit of the water from my school clothes came free and collapsed on the sand, quickly soaking into it. I sighed in relief at the sudden loss of weight. "Thanks, Takeru-kun."

"Takeru-kun?" One of his eyebrows rose up, and I giggled.

"What, too personal for you?" I teased, giving him a grin. "Or do you prefer sea monkey still?"

"Takeru-kun is fine," he said quickly, and I snorted a laugh. "You go ahead and head home. It's very late."

"Okay. I'll see you in a day or so, okay?" I picked up the pack that had somehow materialized outside the cave entrance before turning to look at him with a soft smile. "You be good, sea monkey."

"You too, jellyfish," he responded, walking over and ruffling my hair like always. I scowled and poked his belly, making the muscles jump and him glare.

A sly smirk crossed my face, and I bolted a few feet away before turning and quickly blowing him a kiss before turning and running up the beach, too nervous to look behind my and see the reaction of my little stunt on his face.

* * *

Home was dark as usual when I came in, and I immediately headed for the shower, needing to get the salt I knew was going to form on my body and clothes out of there as soon as possible. The water was perfectly warm as I sank my body into it, the last bit of tension leaving my tired muscles.

Leaning my head back against the edge of the tub, I thought of the stunning sight that I had been able to witness. As soon as I was able, I was going to buy more chalk to etch the memory of this night on the cave wall. The rest of the free space I would dedicate to memory saving, only in picture form. Any special time with Takeru would be drawn, and I felt pleased with my decision.

"A god, huh..." I murmured to myself, sighing. My heart thumped in my chest when I pictured that sweet, cocky smile of his, but it wasn't painful like I was used to. It was warm and comfortable, and I thought I could easily get used to it.

My eyes slipped shut of their own accord, and I let myself drift off into a doze, sighing some.

_What am I going to do with myself..._

* * *

**For reference, their language is Japanese, but I'm just writing it all in english cause yeah. The words for 'jellyfish' and 'sea monkey' are 'kurage' and 'umisaru,' respectivly. Like 'zaissou' is 'weed.' Just a little fun fact I thought you might all like.**

**Thanks to all my readers and reviewers, and my silent watchers as well. Stay turned for the next chapter!**


	8. The God of Seas and Storms

_Until yesterday, I only regretted  
__Without looking back, I take a step forward_

_Kuyamu koto shika dekinai kinou made  
__Furikaerazu fumidaseru_

* * *

The days following their night on the sea floor seemed to go by rather quickly, or so it seemed to Takeru. He had a nearly set schedule now, which took a bit to get used to the idea of. Before he'd met Yukino, he'd just done everything regardless if there was a deadline or not. A run early in the morning, breakfast after and then his daily duties as a god of the sea. Most of which involved looking over how bad the seas seemed off that day, and maybe creating a storm or two to have some fun.

Normally he took his time with doing the god part of his day, but every god had noticed that he now rushed to get them out of the way early in the day so he would have free time at night. And every night, he would disappear it seemed, not a sound being heard in his house for hours.

Tsukito watched his brother set out for his morning run from his place under the ever-blooming sakura tree, eyes thoughtful. He considered the change in Takeru one for the better, as the headstrong god had used to lollygag all day, not really caring about doing his duties. Granted, there was still the occasional day that he'd run and then vanish for the remainder of the day, but it was only about two days out of the week.

The purple haired god realized something. It always coincided on the mortal's weekend days, the days he liked to skip. Perhaps his younger brother just was used to the days they had gone to school for the one year? The Moon God himself had had to resist the urge to take those certain days off out of habit.

_Perhaps he misses those day,_ he mused quietly, patiently waiting for his brother to return.

"Ah, nothing like a morning run," Takeru sighed happily, sliding the door open to his house as he stepped inside.

"Welcome home," a soft voice said, and the bluenette grinned and turned to where his brother stood.

"You're up early, bro," he commented, moving towards the elegant god with a grin.

"...What will you be doing today, Takeru?" Golden eyes met gold in a steady gaze.

"The usual. Get some breakfast, do my duties and then go relax."

"May I join you later when we've finished our duties?"

The question threw Takeru off, and he stared at his brother in surprise. "U-um, I'm not sure about that, bro..." the god stammered, scratching the back of his neck nervously. _I have to keep her a secret still,_ an inner voice told him, though he didn't know why he had to hide Yukino from his brother of all people.

"What's wrong? I'd like to see what you do to relax after your duties are done."

"It's kind of a personal thing I do," the Sea God said, and Tsukito noticed the very light blush that adorned his younger brother's face. His head tilted slightly.

"Do you pleasure yourself?"

A choking sound escaped from Takeru's throat at the question, his entire face flushing at such an outrageous assumption. "B-bro, hell no!"

"You don't have to be embarrassed, it's perfectly natural," was the calm response. The purple-haired god nodded, sure now of his brother's pastime.

"I do _not_ do that!" Takeru protested loudly, wondering just how his brother had gotten that idea in his head.

"Then what do you do? I have not seen you outside of your duties in the morning, and you still sometimes skip them."

"I...I go to another place. It's a secret I don't want anyone else to know about."

_And I don't want him to meet Yukino yet...that stubborn jellyfish would only show him her stingers._

A strange look crossed Tsukito's face then, one that Takeru couldn't pin.

"Very well then. I'll leave you to it then." With that said, the Moon God moved past his brother and exited the house, his robes barely making a sound as he moved. "Be safe."

"Y-you too, bro," Takeru mumbled, not feeling well about having to give his older brother the round-about. He trusted him, he really did, but a part of him just wasn't ready for Tsukito to know about Yukino yet. A heavy sigh passed Takeru's lips as he headed into his kitchen, feeling the need for a nice meal.

His neck was stiff after he finished his duties of the day. The oceans were fine, and Takeru had stirred up a few currents to make a few storms in one of the southern oceans so that some land that had been dry for a while now could have some relief.

The Sea God looked up at the sky and saw that it was getting on in time, nearly time for Yukino to be out of school. He walked back to his house slowly, feeling no rush. If she was coming today, she would call him.

The last week however, it had been rare for her to have time to talk to him. Takeru frowned slightly, realizing that it'd been three days since they'd met up last. However, she was very adamant about studying for those final tests, so he left her be and just hoped each day that she'd be able to have some spare time.

Last he'd heard Nayomi had shown back up at school, but beside the occasional death glare had left his white-haired friend alone. The number of people who bugged her had increased as well, the number one being her old love interest, that Koto-whatever.

Just thinking of it made Takeru clench his jaw. What the guy was doing was trying to get his jellyfish to open up, and show her soft spots to let others take jabs at it, breaking her down farther. She thought he was sweet, but as a guy, the god could see right through him

He was proud of her, however, when she'd told him that she'd found it easier to push him away, to reject his seemingly friendly advances. The little jellyfish wasn't so easily duped anymore, and was able to tell who to show her stingers to.

_In fact, I think I'm the only one that she honestly talks to,_ the blue-haired god thought, sitting down to eat some lunch while he waited for any hint of a call from her.

The pearl he had enhanced for her held just a tiny fraction of his power, and he was able to sense what she was doing if he truly concentrated. It wasn't like he could spy on her, but he was able to tell her emotions at the time. Getting comfortable, Takeru closed his eyes for a few seconds and concentrated, wondering what she was doing.

He felt a hint of stress right off the bat, which was expected since she was studying so hard. Yukino had once told him that even though she didn't know what she was going to do with her life after school, she at least wanted to have her options open with her acedemics. He also felt a lingering annoyance, as if someone had bothered her recently. There was also a fierce determination, to which he smirked.

There was also another emotion underneath the surface of fresh emotions, one that had only come up after the night they'd spent watching the turtles and jellyfish. It was a warm, pleasent one, and though he didn't know what exactly it was, he was somehow comforted by the fact it was there. Assured she was fine, he opened his eyes and kept eating, wondering if he should go to the cave and wait for her.

Deciding it would be better to take a short walk instead to clear his head, he put his empty dishes to the side and stood up, opening the shojo and heading for his usual running path.

* * *

It was a few hours after dark that he heard the murmur of her voice saying his name. It was audible only to him, and for some reason she was quieter than normal, but Takeru still leapt up and headed for the back room where the pool was, eager to be there already.

The water of the pool sucked him in, and within a few seconds he was standing in the familiar cave on the other side, looking around. "Oi, jellyfish."

There was no response, to which he frowned. Had she called him by mistake? Or was Yukino just playing a joke on him? He turned around, eyeing the dark spaces of the cave, not eager to be tackled and tickled.

He spotted the blanket they kept in the cave near where the sunset drawing was, and raised an eyebrow at the figure curled up on it with books strewn all about, a small lantern lighting up the surface area. "Hey, why are you studying here of all places?" Takeru asked, walking over to stand by her.

When there was still no reply, a frown formed and he knelt down, only to blink. _She's asleep?_

Yukino's head was laying on a book, her white hair held back in a short ponytail to keep most of it out of her eyes. An empty pack of daifuku and a half-full water bottle lay nearby on top of other tomes, proof that she had indeed been here to study. He shook his head at her sleeping form, slowly moving his jellyfish so that she'd be more comfortable.

"You silly fish," the god muttered, putting the books to the side and kneeling next to her to try and wrap the blanket over her some so the girl wouldn't get cold.

She shifted only slightly as he moved her, murmuring his name. Takeru raised an eyebrow at that, now knowing how he'd heard her. Curled up as she was, it wasn't any wonder that the pearl had picked up her voice. Shaking his head at how silly this human girl could be, he looked around for anything he could use as a pillow.

Unfortunately there wasn't much, and he didn't think she'd like to drool on her books while she slept. Looking down at her, the blunette debated on what he could do to make her more comfortable.

"..." He sighed, not really seeing any other option. He laid himself down beside her after removing the armor on his arm and tugged her close, placing her head on his chest to use as a pillow instead of the hard cave floor. Takeru then flipped the blanket that was loose around her so that she'd be warm, not using the part he was laying on to cover his own body. He was fine with the temperature of the cave.

The Storm god watched as she slept, noticing the way her eyelids moved slightly as she dreamed. The teen snuggled up closer to him, causing a light blush to form on his face.

"If you were tired from studying," he muttered, brushing some of her bangs out of the way, "then you should have just taken some time to sleep instead of going till you passed out."

The only response he got was a small, happy sigh, earning a chuckle from him as he propped his free arm behind his head, the other wrapped around her shoulders to keep her close and warm. As he watched the light from the pool dance on the ceiling, he felt sleep tug at his own mind, and closed his eyes, only intending to rest for a few minutes.

* * *

A rather loud, annoying noise startled him from his deep sleep. Takeru heard a loud groan and felt Yukino reach around and grab for the source of the noise behind her, fumbling fingers grabbing her phone and pulling it so she could see it and turn the alarm off.

"Dammit...where am I?" she yawned loudly before opening her eyes. The god felt her stiffen in shock when she saw where she was, and he hid his amusement, playing like he was still asleep himself to see what she did.

Yukino stared at him for a while, no doubt trying to remember how she'd gotten into this position, and he was having trouble keeping the smirk off his face. He could feel her heartbeat pick up where her chest was smooshed against his side, which he wasn't sure was normal or not.

Finally she inched herself away from him and sat up, and he risked a peek through his eyelashes to see the white-haired girl patting her cheeks to cool the rather obvious blush that was there. Grinning, he sat up himself and looked at her.

"Sleep well, jellyfish?"

A surprised squeak left her as she jumped, turning her wide blue eyes to look at him in shock. "U-uh, I...I..."

Takeru laughed some at that, reaching over and ruffling her hair affectionatly. "Calm down. You fell asleep while studying and called me in your sleep. I just made you more comfortable so you could get some shut eye."

"O-oh, yeah..." The teen cast her eyes downward, that blush returning to her face. _She looks cute when she's shy,_ he thought idly, but shrugged the thought away after a few seconds.

"So why have you been studying so hard that you'd pass out in a cave?" he asked, standing up and arching his back to pop it, groaning in relief when it did.

"I have a really big test later today, and I wanted to make the best grade possible. Wait," she gasped, and grabbed for her phone again. "Oh god, I have to go!"

"Eh? Why?"

"I have to walk to school, return these books, and get ready for the day!" She was clearly panicking, and started to dart around and grab whatever she could and stuff it into her school pack.

"What about your uniform?" he asked, pointing out the ruffled state it was in from being slept in.

"I'll fix it later, I just have to go!" Swinging the pack onto her shoulder, Yukino bolted to the entrance to the pool room before pausing and looking back at him. A cute smile appeared, and Takeru felt his heart give an odd flip-flopping sensation.

"Thanks for last night, by the way. I'll be back later, I promise!"

And with that, she was gone.

Scratching his cheek and wondering about the feeling that one smile had given him, he turned and looked at the blanket that lay in total disarray now. With a sigh he started to straighten it, only to pause when two things fell to the side.

The first was a box of chalk that had half the contents used up, and he immediately looked around the wall. He spotted the new addition immediately, blinking at the image of him and Yukino resting on the sea floor, surrounded by sea turtles and jellyfish. He had to admit, the girl could draw rather well with chalk.

The second item was one he knew was very important to her: her phone. He picked up the item, turning it over and eyeing the blue wave pattern of the box around it. "Hmm...she'll probably need this later today," he mused aloud, wondering what exactly he was going to do.

It was obvious he was going to have to return it, but beyond the shore surrounding the cave, he really had no knowledge of where he was in the human world. A heavy sigh left his lips and Takeru stood up, holding the phone in his hand and looking towards the cave exit, considering the options he had.

"...She owes me one for this."

* * *

**Another chapter? Le gasp! Lol nah, I'm just eager to write and post these. It's hard to control myself with how fast I post them, because I know that all of you want to know what happens next as well. I have to keep to at least one chapter a day though, otherwise it'll all be over too quickly.**

**Tomorrow shall have an interesting surprise for Yukino...**


	9. The First Visit Home

_As if it will completely get broken_

_Pain and sadness are mixed_

_Kowarechimai souna hodo_

_Setsunasa to kurushisa ga mazatte_

* * *

I ran as fast and as hard as I could after the embarrassing awakening I'd had, feeling for sure that the blush I sported even now would never go away. Why had he done that? I knew he was just trying to help me sleep, but must he have made me _cuddle_ him? If I had said or done anything in my sleep to embarrass myself, I'd never live it down!

As much as I hated to admit it, though, that was the best awakening I'd ever had in my life, minus the annoying alarm that woke me up. I had no idea when I nodded off as I studied, and just hoped I could remember the material enough to pass the test that was today.

The last day of school before summer break. I couldn't help but smile at the thought. One last day before I could spend all my time with Takeru. I didn't know what we would do for the time we would have, but I'm sure that we'd find something to pass the time together.

I slowed down as I got closer to the school, panting for air at the exertion. I was unusually early, given the fact that the beach was closer to the school than my apartment was, so I decided to take a bit of time getting there. I adjusted my clothes as I walked, trying to make them less messy. "Can't believe I fell asleep while studying..." I muttered to myself.

Climbing the steps of the school I headed for the cafeteria to buy me a little bit of breakfast, since there was no way that I'd be able to go home and back before school started. I pulled out one of my textbooks to look at while I ate, skimming over the contents to refresh my memory on what I'd crammed last night.

I vaguely heard light steps coming up behind me, but ignored it as I flipped a page, trying to remember where I'd been when I'd dozed off. I paid the price for my inattention when someone grabbed the back of my head and shoved it directly into my rice bowl.

I yelled in shock and jerked back immediately, wiping my face off and whirling around to glare at the now-laughing Nayomi, her high pitched voice grating my already frayed nerves. "Nayomi, why did you do that?!" I demanded, not caring if I let my anger show today.

"Your face needed an improvement, that's all~" she sang happily, putting her arms behind her back and rocking on her feet with this odd grin on her face. I narrowed my eyes at her before sniffing in disgust and turning back to my rice, cleaning up the mess that she had caused.

"Oh come now, it was just a little joke," she pleaded mockingly, circling so that she could lean over me as I sat down and tried to continue reading. "Why can't you just laugh?"

"Because you're an obnoxious bitch that only wants to gain pleasure from my pain," I hissed at her, my short fuse burning closer towards an explosion.

A dark expression crossed her eyes at that, and she opened her mouth to retort when a hand was placed on her shoulder lightly. "Nayomi-chan, what are you and Yukino-chan talking about?"

I directed my glare at the speaker, only faltering slightly as I recognized his voice. "Nothing, Kouta-san. She was just about to leave." I gave her a tight smile, daring her to continue in front of him.

Her lips lifted in a small snarl of frustration, but she pulled back and marched out of the cafeteria, back stiff. Kouta sighed and turned to me. "I'm sorry about that. She's been rather...unstable recently."

"Then keep her on a leash so she won't bite anyone," I snapped before shoving some rice into my mouth, done talking with anyone who was human.

I could feel the sadness coming from the teen boy as he turned away and followed his girlfriend, but I couldn't bring myself to truly care at the moment. I had more important things on my mind, like passing the test and just getting out of this school for the summer.

I reached into my school bag to grab my phone and check the time, only to find the space where I kept it empty. Eyes widening in alarm, I looked through everything for it. "Damn it!" I swore when I realized that I'd forgotten to pick it up back in the cave. "I'll just have to go and get it after school..." So much for going home for a nice relaxing bath.

As more people filled the cafeteria, I put away my belongings and headed for the relative quiet of the classroom, knowing I'd be safe in there, as the homeroom teacher liked to go in there early to make sure all was in order. I needed to do some final studying before the tests came up.

* * *

"Thank god it's finally over!"

The guy next to me exclaimed happily as the last bell rang and we handed in our papers, stretching his arms above his head. I couldn't help but feel the same, sighing heavily as I packed my books and stood to leave. I was eager to get out of that place, but I trudged along slowly through the halls, not really caring to push myself after the hard tests.

As I passed a group of girls by the lockers on the way to get my shoes, I heard them giggling and talking loudly.

"Did you see him? He's right by the gate!"

"Yeah I did! He's _so_ hot! Even if he's a bit short."

A loud giggle was the response. "So what? Who do you think he's waiting on?"

"I don't know, but they must love his odd hair. I mean, blue?"

_Blue hair..._ I paused, staring at the girls in surprise. I didn't even notice Nayomi call out from behind me with a false tone of cheerfulness, Kouta trailing behind her. My attention was totally focused on the gaggle of girls and their twittering.

"He's been standing there for almost half an hour now I think. And all he's doing is fiddling with a phone as well."

"Think he's stalking someone?"

"Ew, I hope not! He's too pretty to be a stalker anyway!"

_No, no way..._

"Hey, earth to whitey!"

A hand waved in front of my face, snapping me out of my mind. I turned and glared at my enemy, scowling. "Not now, Nayomi!"

"Oh, but it's a perfect time~ Me and Kouta-kun were going to go somewhere, you want to come with?" Her voice just reeked of insincerity. Who in the world could stand to be around her?

"No, now let me by," I said hurriedly, darting around her and speed walking away, not caring if she was following me. I nearly tripped down the stairs in my rush, immediately zeroing in on who exactly was standing there at the gates to the school.

Well, less standing and more leaning casually against the brick wall. His face was passive as he played with a familiar blue phone, he was dressed in what looked like some sort of school attire, a white shirt with a blue tie with a sun pin on it, covered by a green over jacket with the sleeves rolled up, stylized waves around the bottom edges. Black bracers with a familiar, flower-like pin on them graced his arms, and his sandled feet were barely covered by the grey pants he wore. His turquoise-blue hair was held back by a band, minus a bit that hung over his right eye and the short ponytail tied at the nape of the neck.

As I stared at this impossible sight before me, I tried to convince myself I was just dreaming. _You've stayed up too many nights, haven't eaten right or gotten enough sleep. That can't be him as a human, it just can't..._

"Hey, I'm not done talking yet, Yukino-chan!" Nayomi huffed, still behind me.

At the sound of my name the boy looked up, and my ocean eyes met with his dark amber ones immediately. A smirk formed on his lips, and he pushed off the wall and started walking towards me. Feeling like I was in a trance, I stepped forward to meet him, ignoring the suddenly frantic questions of the girl hovering around.

"Hey," the blunette greeted me warmly, and held out my phone to me with a smile. "You left this behind."

I stared at it, then up at none other than Takeru. His eyebrow raised at my expression. "What, jellyfish?"

"Wh...what in the _world_ are you doing here?!" I asked, finally able to comprehend what was happening when i heard the nickname.

A casual shrug was my response, along with an, "I decided to pick you up from school today. If you were tired enough to forget your phone, I figured you were pretty beat."

"Th-that...I..." I stammered incoherently, blushing as I felt multiple stares in our direction from my school mates. I could practically smell their intense curiosity at how this handsome stranger knew the outcast of the school.

"Excuse me," Nayomi said, slowly slinking up with that sweet little smile of hers and nudging me out of the way firmly. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but who are you?"

A sharp glance at her made the dark haired girl flinch ever so slightly, and I couldn't help but feel satisfied at the sight. "None of your business." He held the phone out to me again. I took it with a small smile, blushing just a bit more.

Nayomi's eyes practically bugged out when she saw my reaction, her body going rigid in shock. I stepped lightly towards Takeru to stand by his side, mentally cursing when Kouta came forward.

"Neh, you know this guy Yukino-chan?" he asked casually, reaching forward to pat Nayomi's shoulder lightly. It shook her out of her trance, and she directed a look at me that held nothing short of pure feminine outrage.

"Yes, I do," I replied curtly, glancing at the man beside me. He was much shorter than Kouta by a good bit, but I knew the strength he had. And the best part was that he did to. The air around him was filled with steady confidence, and he was directing a 'go ahead and try something' look at the couple in front of us.

By now most of the other students had stopped what they were doing and watching us, murmering to themselves at this sudden new development. I slid a little closer to Takeru for comfort, and he spared a glance in my direction, his hands shoved into the pockets of his pants as he adopted a deceitfully casual stance.

Kouta smiled some and offered out a hand to the man beside me. "I'm Fujiwara Kouta. I'm a friend of Yukino-chan."

"Acquaintance," I corrected him, rolling my eyes at his insistence on calling me a friend when I most certainly wasn't. Jilted crush was a more accurate term.

Takeru didn't take the hand offered to him, eyeing the teen instead. "I know, she's told me about you." A knowing smirk appeared as he glanced to Nayomi beside him. "And I know about her as well. Nayomi, right?"

She nodded, attempting to keep her calm in front of this handsome stranger. The smirk only got bigger.

"You didn't describe her accurately enough, jellyfish," he commented casually. I sputtered at that, wondering what exactly he meant as a thread of jealousy made itself known.

Kouta coughed slightly. "Um, she's my girlfriend."

"I know, I know. I'm just wondering why you settled for her."

My eyes widened at the implications of those words, and I saw that it wasn't lost on the other two as well. Kouta looked highly uncomfortable, while Nayomi stared at the god in disguise with a shell-shocked look.

"I-if I don't mind asking, who are you to Yukino-chan?" the brunette asked, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

"Isn't it obvious?" Takeru announced. Then to my shock, he reached over and pulled me close to him, arm wrapped around my shoulder possessively as he directed a challenging glare at the taller male, daring him to say anything. "You have a problem, bastard?"

I saw a totally different emotion flash across Kouta's face for a split second, one that set the hairs on my body standing on end as he looked unflinchingly into the amber eyes of the Sea God. The tension in the air became palpable, weighing down on everyone in the vicinity. Everyone was now staring at us with astonishment, as the blunette hadn't been the quietest or subtle about his claim at all.

I turned fifty shades of red under all the attention, but I didn't move away from his side, instead meeting the furious gaze Nayomi directed at me. A queer feeling of triumph filled me, and I lifted my chin proudly. A defiant grin spread on my face, and I could tell that she was two seconds away from trying to jump me.

The stand off lasted a few more seconds before Takeru humphed and turned away, dropping his arm from my shoulder to wrap around my waist to steer me. "Let's go, pearl."

I let him guide me, leaning closer to take shelter in the overflowing confidence he gave off, leaving a stunned and silent school behind us. I nodded in the direction my apartment was, and we walked together in a slightly awkward silence. The arm around me dropped after a while, and Takeru put his hand back into his pocket. I glanced at him, still blushing from that rather sudden announcement he'd made.

He noticed my staring and turned those pretty amber eyes to me. "What is it, jellyfish?" he asked, sounding perturbed.

"Wh-what in the hell was all that about?" I asked him, trying to find a reason to be mad at what he'd just done, but I was too happy that he was here with me, actually walking me home, to really work up any negative feelings.

"Oh, that?" He shrugged, looking back ahead. "They were getting on my nerves, asking such questions. It wasn't any of his damned business."

I nodded in agreement, scowling slightly. "He acted like he was my keeper or something. He's never done that before."

"Well, just keep away from him from now on, jellyfish," he said shortly. I glanced over at him at the nickname.

"You called me pearl back there..."

"Eh? I did?" Takeru looked at me in surprise. Did he not mean to say it, or was he just playing with me?

I nodded again, then blushed some. "Wh...why did you make it sound like we're a couple?"

"Hm...I didn't mean it to come out that way, but if that'll help to keep them away from you, they can take it that way if they want." Another shrug.

The words stung me a little on the inside. So he didn't see us as a couple? I swallowed the bitterness of disappointment in my mouth before replying, voice a little cold. "Okay then."

He blinked and looked at me again. "Did I say something wrong?"

_Is he really that oblivious?_

"No. I'm just hoping that it won't backlash on me after summer break is over," I sighed, deciding that it was okay. I'd hopefully make him change his mind eventually. If he liked me enough to stand up for me and not give a damn about any sort of repercussions, that was a good start.

"Oh? You're on summer break now?"

I nodded, looking at him and smiling happily as I remembered. "Yeah! Today was the last day of school before break started!"

A large smile appeared on his handsome face, and my heart flip-flopped like it always did. "That's great, jellyfish! Now you don't have to stay up late and drive yourself crazy with test preparations."

I scowled at him playfully as we walked up the stairs to my building, having just reached it. I punched in the code and let us inside, walking up to the level where the apartment was. I reached to open the door only to freeze, eyes widening. Takeru looked at me with slight alarm.

"What's wrong?"

"No way..." I opened the door and bolted inside, forgetting to take my shoes off. I heard him protest before following me inside to where I stood staring at the figure sprawled out on the futon in front of the tv. A face turned to see me, and the air caught in my throat.

"M...mom? You're home?"

"Oh, Yuyu-chan~" she sang, leaping up and running over to embrace me, clad in only a tank top with falling straps and a pair of very lacy underpants, but I couldn't bring myself to care as I hugged her back.

"Mom, you're home!" I cried happily, relieved to see her safe and sound after almost three months of not being able to see her.

"Oh sweety, I missed you so much," she murmured, nuzzling the top of my head affectionately. I giggled and stepped back, looking up at her with a bright grin.

A gentle cough reminded me of Takeru, who was watching the whole reunion uncomfortably. I looked back at him and was about to say something when my mother interrupted me.

"Oh my god, you've got a boyfriend!"

I choked on air at the statement, blushing furiously and turning towards her. "Mom! He's not my boyfriend!"

"Oh," she said, sounding sad before smirking in a knowing way. "Well, whoever he is you might want to tell him not to stare at your mother like that~"

"Like what?" I turned and saw that he was indeed staring at my scantily clad mother, a bright red blush on his face and a look of total loss to accompany it. I realized exactly _where_ he was staring at her as well and felt my jeleous side erupt. "Hey, this is my mother you're looking at!" I snapped, glaring daggers at him.

Takeru jumped slightly and quickly averted his eyes, causing my shameless mother to giggle before going back to the futon and flopping down on it again. Huffing, I grabbed his arm and dragged him towards my room, shoving him inside and closing the door behind us.

The god shifted nervously when he saw my expression, holding his hands up to placate me. "S-sorry, I didn't expect her to be...dressed like that."

I scowled at him regardless, feeling slightly ridiculous that I'd been jealous over my own mother and the look he'd been giving her. I dropped my school bag to the side and grabbed a change of clothes before marching to the door. I grabbed the handle and turned back to him.

"I'm going to take a bath real fast. Don't you _dare_ leave this room, Totsuka Takeru!" I hissed at him threateningly, slightly amused to see him take a step back. I could be scary when I was angry enough.

Satisfied he would stay put, I walked out and to the bathroom, intending to get this whole fiasco over and done with as soon as possible.

* * *

Takeru looked around Yukino's room for a place to sit, eventually deciding that the area in front of a small table in the middle of the room looked like a good spot. He settled himself into a comfortable position before taking a look around her room, rather surprised at its contents.

It was mainly a theme of white and blue, with deep navy curtains over the single window to hide the light from outside. Small toekns of beach-combing were everywhere, from shells to rocks. He even noticed a small bottle full of sand from the beach, and couldn't help but smirk.

There were only two pictures in her room, perched on the dresser beside her bed. One was clearly of her and her mother, only a year or so old if he had to guess. The other one was of a tiny-white haired girl with a man and a woman, both of whom looked proud while standing on the beach at noon.

The Storm God heard the click of the door opening, and turned to comment on just how fast Yukino was able to bathe when he noticed that it was her mother instead. She had straightened her top and put on a pair of sweatpants, and was currently leaning against the door frame with her arms crossed and a smirk on her face.

Immediately uncomfortable, Takeru looked away. "Sh-she told me to stay in here while she bathed," he explained.

"Aye, I heard her. She's a hot head, that girl." An affectionate chuckle, and she pushed off the wall to sit across the table from him, leaning in with her chin in her hand. "So, Totsuka, Takeru-san. I'm Manabe Kanawa, Yukino's mother."

"O-okay," he muttered, glancing at her. Why was she looking at him like that? He was reminded of a coy cat playing with a mouse it had cornered. Or Loki about to pull one of his infamous pranks.

"Don't be so nervous, I won't bite." An airy sigh passed her lips, and she pushed her long black hair behind an ear. "I'm just curious about you. After all, you're the first friend she's ever brought home since grade school."

"I am?" Takeru asked, his interest perking. Kanawa nodded, smirking.

"I've been hoping she'd make new friends eventually when we moved here, and I'm glad that it's late than never. So tell me, how did you two meet?"

"It was...well, an accident really." Quickly changing a few details, he leaned forward with his hand on his chin and shut his eyes, playing it casual. "I was in a secret cave of mine at the beach near here and she stumbled in all of a sudden. I didn't expect her to be there and sort of snapped at her, but she just snapped back." A slight smile slipped onto his face as he chuckled. "Then she made me stay and listen to her as she complained about all the problems she'd had at school that day. Yukino didn't shut up for at least ten minutes, I'm surprised she didn't pass out from not breathing!"

Kanawa laughed, covering her mouth to smother the sound. "That sounds exactly like her. Though I'm surprised she opened up to you like that on the first meeting. Usually she doesn't trust anyone at all."

"Well, she was pretty stressed," Takeru sighed, recalling that day in his own way. "I let her vent, and told her she could use the cave as well if she needed to relax."

"That's such a nice thing to do," the woman said, leaning in to listen. Smirking, the blunette launched into how she had come back and started to bug him, only to surprise him with her tenacity and stubbornness. Kanawa laughed loudly when he told her the nickname he used for her, and even harder when he mentioned that he was usually called 'sea monkey' in return. She wiped a tear from her eye as Yukino appeared, hair damp from her bath.

"Hey, what are you guys doing?" she asked, looking at them.

Takeru glanced over and blinked, eyes quickly taking in the rather short shorts she had on that exposed her legs in a flattering manner, as well as the cyan-colored loose shirt with a blank under-tank she wore up top. it flattered her figure greatly, and he had to glance away to stop himself from blushing more than a pink tinge.

A knowing look appeared on Kanawa's face, and she turned to her daughter. "Just finding out how he met you dear, nothing else. My stinging jellyfish," she added, tone teasing.

Yukino groaned and sat down with them, glaring at Takeru. "You told her about that, sea monkey?"

"Yeah. I also told her how you're a big pain in the neck," he shot back, smirking at the infuriated look she had.

"So what are you kids planning on tonight?" Kanawa asked, looking back and forth at the two. They glanced at each other and shrugged, not sure themselves. "Well then, why don't you stay for dinner, Totsuka-kun?"

Yukino sputtered slightly at the suggestion, but Takeru quickly nodded. "I'd love to, Manabe-san."

"Please, call me Kanawa." With a devilish smirk she rose to her feet. "I'll go ahead and get started cooking. You two stay out of trouble."

With that she left, closing the door gently behind herself. Yukino let out a long sigh and leaned back on her hands, glancing at him.

"So what did you tell her?"

"That you came upon me in a cave that was my secret spot."

"So totally not a lie then," she said, grinning. "What do you want to do till dinner's done? Mom won't let me help because I'll just set everything on fire again."

"_Again?_" Takeru echoed, looking at her in alarm. "Just how bad are you?"

"Really bad, one time, in home ec..."

* * *

**Holy mother of the gods, my fingers. They hurt from all this typing. xD But this is a special extra update for today for my friend May~ I hope you enjoy this, you plot-guessing fiend!**

**A thanks to my reviewers, watchers and silent readers once again!**


	10. The Sleepover

_Only the time we touched each other_

_Did our hearts overlap comfortably_

_Fureatta jikan dake_

_Kokochiyoku kasanariau kokoro_

* * *

Having Takeru over wasn't the huge disaster I thought it would end up being, thank the heavens above. He and my mother got along perfectly well, matching wits with each other and laughing when I scolded them both when they started to pick on me. I sat back and watched as they interacted, feeling a bloom of warmth in my chest.

After we had some dinner together we all sat back on the futon and turned on a drama, laughing at the ridiculousness of the melodramatics they used. I sat in between Takeru and my mother, hands in my lap and leaning against Takeru's arm, as he'd put it behind me on the back of the couch. My mother was laying with her feet practically in my lap, facing towards me and the Sea God and occasionally glancing at us with a funny look on her face.

"Does this even count as drama? It's so ridiculous you have to laugh," Takeru commented as the main actress started sobbing how sorry she was for cheating on her lover.

"I have no idea, but at least it's entertaining for us," I commented, leaning more towards him unconsciously.

"Dump that lying harlot!" my mother called out, shaking her fist at the male actor. "You know she's not gonna change, just leave her and move on with your life!"

"Mom, I think you're a bit too into it," I giggled. I loved it when she was home, it took the edge off all of my loneliness. But I knew that this time wouldn't last more than a day or two, she'd have to go off back to her job again, wherever the money led her to so she could provide for me.

"Nonsense, I'm perfectly fine. No you dumbass, dump her!" she screeched as the couple on the screen embraced. She sat up quickly, her feet kicking into me and knocking me over.

"Hey!" I yelped, falling onto my back in Takeru's lap. I blinked up at him as he did the same, surprised at how comfy this was.

"Um...hi?" I grinned awkwardly. He smirked and patted my head lightly.

"Silly jellyfish."

I stuck my tongue out at him, and he grabbed it with his fingers. "Heh!" I protested, pouting with my tongue hanging out. He laughed at how silly I looked and let go.

I made a move to sit up again, but then my mother's feet were suddenly on top of my belly, holding me down so that I had to stay put. When I looked over at her, she merely winked at me, to which I rolled my eyes and shifted to get comfortable, turning my head to see the tv again. Takeru looked down at me for a minute before shrugging and letting it go, turning his eyes to the magical box before us.

We continued like that till rather late at night, only noticing when we were tired after my mother, then I and eventually Takeru started yawning every other minute.

"How far away do you live, Takeru-kun?" Mom asked as she hit the power button of the remote, looking over to where me and the god were still snuggled close to each other.

"Pretty far, but I can walk," he answered, smothering a yawn with his hand.

"No way, if it's far you can stay the night. I'll get you a blanket." She rose to her feet and walked out of the room, ignoring the protests given.

"Oh boy, a sleepover with a guy!" I said, giggling at his confused expression. "She's not going to take no for an answer, just so you know."

"I think I figured that out," he said sarcastically, looking down at me. "Are you comfortable down there?"

I still had my head on his lap. I winked playfully. "Very much so, actually. Is it bothering you?"

"Not as much as it probably should, with you so close to my stomach."

I gave him an evil grin at that, pulling a hand up and waving my fingers at his belly threateningly. "You cannot escape the torture~"

And that was when he shoved me off his lap and into the floor.

"OW! Ass, what was that for?!" I sat up, rubbing the sore spot on my head where I'd hit it on the floor. All he did was chuckle at my misfortune. "Stupid sea monkey."

"You threatened me, and I acted accordingly," Takeru said as he stood up, stretching his arms above his head leisurely. His shirt pulled up some, and from my place on the floor I suddenly got a good eyeful of his toned stomach. I felt myself swallow on instinct, jerking my gaze away to hide the blush on my face.

"Honey, why are you on the floor?" Mom asked as she came back in, carrying two pillows and a nice blanket for Takeru to use.

"The sea monkey got mad when I threatened to tickle him again," I said, standing up and dusting myself off.

"She should know better by now," the god muttered, scratching the back of his neck before accepting the pillows and blanket. "Thank you."

"You both should go on and hit the hay, I'm doing that myself. You've got ten minutes to say good night, but then you're going to sleep." With that said, Mom turned on her heel and went to her own room, closing the door with a tiny 'click,' and then I was alone with the blue-haired man.

I grimaced at the time limit she set on us, shaking my head. "I'll help you set up," I offered, bending over to fluff the futon up some.

"I can get it," he said, shaking out the blanket and laying it on the futon when I was done fluffing.

"Too bad, you're the guest tonight." I grabbed a pillow and placed it at the head, while he took the other and did the same. I stood straight and looked at him, grinning some. "We make a good bed-making team."

He snorted slightly. "Like they hand out awards for that." He shifted slightly, starting to look as awkward as I was feeling.

"...You need anything else?" I asked, wringing my hands in front of me in a sudden bout of nervousness.

"No, I should be fine." He looked over at me with his amber eyes, and I grinned.

"I like your human form, you know."

"Really?"

"Yeah. It's just as handsome as your god form."

One of his eyebrows raised up, and I blushed in embarrassment. _Did I really just tell him that I thought he was handsome? Idiot!_

Takeru chuckled lightly after a few seconds, reaching over and ruffling my hair. "Silly jellyfish."

I play smacked his shoulder, being very gentle. "Stupid sea monkey."

Another chuckle, and then my eyes widened as he leaned in closer all of a sudden. My heart skipped a beat as my eyes widened at the sudden move, holding my breath to see what he would do next.

He kept on getting closer, then when he was a few inches away he tilted his head up ever so slightly and planted a soft kiss on my forehead, lingering for a few seconds before pulling back and looking away, a very light blush of his own on his face. "You better get to bed, it's late."

I blinked at him, the words not clicking for a few seconds. Then my brain remembered to work and I jumped a bit, nodding and nearly tripping over myself to get to my room. I paused in the doorway and turned around, notiing that he was watching me out of the corner of his eye.

I smiled at him then, feeling my expression soften to one of affection. "Good night, Takeru," I said before slipping inside and shutting the door. As soon as the door clicked shut I marched over to my bed, buried my head under my pillow, and squealed as quietly as I could.

_He kissed me! A forehead kiss, but still!_ I squealed again, kicking my feet and feeling like a giddy little girl.

My stomach was filled with butterflies and my head was spinning in a dizzying way. It took me taking several deep breaths to focus just on getting changed for bed time. I flopped down on my futon and hugged my pillow tightly, smothering my face into the soft fabric.

Today had just been the best day of my entire life, and I fell asleep happier than I had felt in a very long time.

* * *

Tsukito frowned, watching the pool his brother used to teleport unhappily. It had been two days since he'd left, much longer than the few hours he was usually missing. The other gods were starting to gossip and predict where he may have gone, but they left the actual search to the Moon God.

A small, angry sigh passed his lips as he stood up when it became clear that his bother would not be returning that night either. He slipped out of his younger sibling's house and walked to his own a few ways away, wondering where his wayward brother had ended up this time.

If he didn't turn up soon, Tsukito himself would be going through the portal to find him.

* * *

I stirred as I felt something tickling my cheek, reaching up to brush it away before pushing my face back into the pillows. The tickling continued much to my displeasure, and I groaned a protest as I reached out to grab whatever it was. My hand grabbed onto something solid instead, and I stiffened.

My ocean eyes opened and met with amused amber, that cocky smirk filling my vision and setting my heart thumping. I groaned again and flipped over. "It's too early, dammit," I muttered, covering myself with the blanket.

I heard him stand up and move around, and not a second later the covers were jerked off of me. I shot upright and screamed at the sudden chill, directing a deadly glare at the now laughing god, who was still in his human form. I quickly covered myself, dressed in only a skimpy light blue nightgown.

"Takeru, you jerk!" I shouted after him as he bolted out the door, still laughing. I heard my mother join in as well and sighed heavily. I pushed myself off the bed and changed into the clothes for the day.

I was disappointed to find that most of my shirts were dirty, but I pulled on a nice purple dress I'd had for a while now, but had never worn out and about. I tugged at the hem, feeling self conscious as it barely reached mid-thigh on me. The bodice was fitted, and the neckline stooped rather low, showing a fair amount of my chest.

Blushing some, I checked the pearl choker around my neck to make sure it was still secure. Finally, I parted my hair into two side ponytails, grinning at how cute it made me look. Finished with my primping, I headed out to see what the other two were doing.

Mom was cooking breakfast, and to my utter surprise Takeru was actually helping her. He had somehow produced a black shirt with green diamonds on the side, coupled with a white unbuttoned shirt with the sleeves rolled up so they wouldn't be in the way. He still had his bracers on as well.

Currently the Storm God was stirring meat around in a skillet while my mother cut up some vegetables. I stopped and stared at them both for a minute, not sure if I could trust my eyes so early in the morning.

"Morning, sweety!" Mom said when she noticed me standing there. "Breakfast is almost ready."

Takeru glanced over, turned back, and then promptly did a double take, his amber eyes wide for some reason. I felt my cheeks grow hot under his gaze, shifting my weight back and forth and wringing my hands together. _Why is he staring at me like that...?_

"Takeru-kun, the meat will burn!"

"...Ah! Sorry!" The god turned back to the food quickly, barely stopping it from sticking to the pan and causing a disaster. I giggled and moved to get some dishware so that we could serve ourselves when it was all done. I arranged it all in a neat line as they pulled the food off the stove and such, placing it so that we would all have a choice in what to eat.

As we got what we wanted and sat down, I clapped my hands together. "Thank you for the food!" I exclaimed happily before digging in, grateful for the chance at a real meal for once. The other two smirked at my actions as they too ate, all of us chatting happily while we relaxed.

"Neh, what should we do today, Takeru-kun?" I asked, looking over at him. "It is the first day of summer vacation, we have to do _something._"

"I'm not sure. What is there that we can do?" He looked at me, but I merely shrugged.

"Not sure. I've only ever gone to the beach on break, but I'm feeling up for a change on the first day."

"Why don't you two go shopping, or perhaps to an arcade?" my mother suggested, sticking a piece of meat into her mouth and chewing, talking around it. "Those are a good start for dates."

"Mom!" I gasped, glaring at her and feeling a light pink dust my cheeks. To my surprise, Takeru actually looked thoughtful.

"Those sound like fun, but I don't have a lot of money."

_More like none at all,_ I mentally corrected. As a god, he really hadn't needed it before now.

My mother smirked, then reached over to her purse and pulled out a rather large wad of cash. My eyes bugged out as she counted out half of it and handed it to us. "Here, some pocket change I've been saving for just such an occasion. Take it and go have fun today."

"M-mom, how'd you get all that?" I asked, fearing to know.

"I got it honestly, Yukino," she assured me, smiling. "People tip well when you give them good service. Plus a low-cut shirt or two helps." She winked at me, and I resisted the urge to roll my eyes at that. She would flirt to get more tips.

"Kanawa-san, are you sure?"Takeru asked, eyes as wide as mine were at the sight of all that cash.

"Very sure. It's about time my little Yuyu-chan went out with a boy, and you should go all out~!" She clapped her hands together happily. "Now let's finish eating so you can get going!"

* * *

**Random cutesy chapter because I'm tired and decided to end it here. A thank you to all my reviewers, new followers, and my silent supporters!**

**Next chapter: THE BIG DATE. (dun dun duuuuuuuuuuuun)**


	11. The Competition

_The voice that was calling out to me, was spinning belief_

_So that I won't lose it_

_Shinjite tsumugu ore o yobu koe_

_Keshite nakusanai you ni_

* * *

After breakfast my mother shooed us out of the house so quickly I barely had time to grab my purse before she shut and locked, _locked, _the door behind us. I stood out there int the hall next to Takeru for about a minute, staring at the door with a bemused look.

"A date, eh..." he muttered, stuffing his hands into his pockets and turning towards me.

My cheeks turned a bright red as I looked away from him. "She's going to be really pushy about calling it that, so let's just let it be." I turned and headed for the entrance, the sea god trailing behind me.

We stepped out into the morning sun, having to squint from how bright it was. People walked past us at a leisurly pace, chatting on the phone or to friends, others just enjoying the start of a new day. I pulling in a deep breath, happy to finally not have to worry about school for a nice long time.

"Neh, where should we go first?" I asked, turning and smiling at Takeru.

"Hm...why don't you show me around the city? I've never been anywhere except the school and your place." He looked around, expressing intrest in his surroundings. With a giggle I grabbed his hand and tugged him down the street, heading for the heart of the city.

As we passed by certain buildings I pointed them out and talked about them, holding his hand tightly so as to not be seperated by the crowd on the sidewalks. He didn't seem to mind, walking beside me and asking the occasional question as we went, a comfortable feeling between us. It was shaping up to be a very, very good day.

From inside the Light Pool a shadow stirred. The rippling of the surface stilled, and as light filled the small space a figure appeared, robes fluttering some in the breeze. They stepped onto the lip of the pool and looked around, golden eyes looking over the pictures painted to the walls.

"..."

Turning towards the entrance, the figure slipped through the opening and up towards the surface, a brief flash of light surrounding them before they climbed out into the sun, intent on hunting down the one that had driven them into this world.

"This is the arcade and karaoke place," I said, coming to a stop in front of the building with a grin. Takeru peered inside the windows, eyeing the flashing lights with caution.

"What exactly does one do in an arcade and karaoke place?"

"Want to go in and see?" I asked him, taking a step towards the door. He hesitated for a second before allowing me to pull him inside, eyes widening some at the flashing lights and strange sounds echoing all around.

I tugged him over to an air hockey machine, figuring it would be a good a place as any to start. Inserting what was needed and handing him a mallet and placed the puck down. "Now, the goal of this is to knock the puck into your opponent's goal. First to a certain amount of points wins."

"Easy enough," he said, putting his mallet down and readying himself.

I hit the puck easily towards him, letting him get a feel for it. He hit hit back easily, and as we went along the pace picked up, both of our eyes trained on the white blur that the puck had become, bashing it into each other's goals a few times, and I even knocked it into my own goal accidentally at one point. Takeru laughed and gloated when he scored a goal, and I in turn teased him for letting me get a few goals in on him and saying that he was going easy on me.

In the end though, he got the last goal in and beat me soundly by about three points. I put the mallet down and stretched my fingers to loosen them, giggling. "See? Arcade's are fun!"

"What's that over there?" he asked, pointing to where a pair of racing games were. Two had motorcycle shaped seats, while the others were car racers.

"Racing games. Want to try them too?"

A nod later we walked over. I put in the coins and sat down in a chair, hitting the two-player button and showing him how to work the controls before selecting a track and a car for myself. As the race started I directed him on the gas and brake pedals at our feet, and soon enough he'd gotten the hang of it. We laughed as we tried to shove each other off the road and edge ahead of each other and the other racers, just having fun competing with the other.

The game ended as we both ended up falling off a cliff and the time running out before we respawned, to which I pouted. "Awh, I didn't kick your butt."

"Hey, I was kicking _your_ butt if I recall," Takeru countered, and I lightly punched him in the arm.

"C'mon, let's check out some other games."

The next few games down the line didn't interest us that much, but when I approached the dancing game located in the far back, I couldn't help but put a hop in my step. "Now _these_ are worth the play!"

"What do you do?" the blunette asked, putting a hand on the back rail and watching the songs playing on the screen.

"You dance in time with the music, matching your steps to the arrows on the screen. It's really fun to do." I hopped up onto one of the machines and pointed at the other one. "C'mon, I'll help you out."

Looking unsure for the first time, he did as he was told, watching me as I inserted the coins and started the game, picking a normal difficulty for me and easy for him. I intended to play more than just a few songs, so I had time to let him learn while I brushed up on my moves.

I selected a familiar song to me and hit start, taking position. As the arrows appeared I started stepping on the correct arrows, watching out of the corner of my eye as Takeru danced as well, taking a minute to get used to where he needed to step. The song was short, and I grinned when I saw I'd gotten a 'B' on it. I looked over and was surprised to see him have a 'B' as well on easy. "Not bad for the first song. Want to try another one?"

"Sure, this is pretty fun." A cocky smirk was on his face, and I raised an eyebrow.

"Is that a challenge I see in those eyes, sea monkey?"

"Perhaps. Easy is too easy already."

"Well then, how about after this turn is used up, we have a little wager?"

"Oh?" His amber eyes watched me, oozing confidence.

"Winner gets to make the loser sing in front of the crowd during the public singing hour they have here on the karaoke level."

"Deal. I chose the songs, though."

"Fine by me." I hit the next song and started it, eager to get to our little competition.

* * *

Our practice songs over, we got serious. Our shoes were off, and we actually did stretches to make sure that we were both ready. A few strangers had noticed us and were milling around, muttering and even putting bets on who would win. We'd already been pressed to tell of our bet, and now they were very interested in who would prevail.

"Okay, what should we put it on? Normal or hard?"

"Hard, make it a challenge," Takeru said, stepping up onto his platform.

"Says the one who just finished with easy mode," I teased, putting in the credits and hitting versus. "Go ahead and pick."

Nodding, the god shuffled through the songs till one came on that had a fast paced beat and good lyrics. He hit start, and we prepared ourselves for one hell of a workout.

The arrows came in a fierce flurry, and I stamped my feet as fast as I could, not even bothering to look over at Takeru for fear of slipping up and loosing any progress. My breath quickly sped up ad I started to sweat as well, not used to moving at such a quick tempo so suddenly.

Thankfully the song was over fast, and we both stopped when it was done, panting for breath and watching the screen. The numbers calculated for a few seconds before showing that he had managed to pull ahead by a mere five hundred points. The people around us whooped and laughed, some who bet on me scowling but not taking it too seriously.

"Good job, Takeru-kun. But it's just getting started!" I laughed, letting him pick the next song. He Landed on one that I sort of knew, and I steadied myself as he hit start.

I focused on the beat of the song for this one, feet flying to the arrows as fast as they could. My heart was pounding in my ears and my head started to spin a little, but I didn't care as I laughed from the fun of it all.

This song was a little longer, and by the end of it we were both pretty tired. He looked less tired than I was, being used to working out. The numbers whirled on the screen before revealing that I had pulled ahead this time, two thousand points difference.

"Last song," I gasped, hands on my knees. A nice crowd coming in for public karaoke hour had gathered at this point to watch us, and someone was kind enough to pass me an unopened bottle of water. I thanked them and gulped down half of it before offering it to Takeru. He shook his head at the offer, and I put the bottle down to prepare for the final round.

Takeru scrolled through the songs carefully, clearly wanting to make this one count as a tie-breaker. He pasued on a certain song, and my eyes widened as I recognized the tune. I didn't know the beat and the lyrics, but the music itself seemed familiar. He hesitated, then slammed the start button, taking his place as I followed suit.

I took a deep breath and focused on the screen in front of me, letting all other distractions flow out of my mind. As the first keys played and the arrows started to fly, I just let my body flow with the music, dancing to the beat as I panted for breath, heart thumping louder and heavier the more I moved.

The song was short and simple, thankfully, and as I stamped out the last few arrows I felt my body try to give out. I stumbled as the numbers rolled, leaning back on the rail behind me. "Holy cow..."

"You alright, jellyfish?" Takeru asked, sounding as tired as I felt.

"Yeah...not used to such a workout," I admitted, shaking my head and looking at the screen as the score appeared.

"...No way." I looked at my screen, then his, and then back. "No way it's _that close._"

The god looked equally shocked, his amber eyes staring at the meager difference between the winner and loser.

Fifty-seven points difference. One mis-step, one little error was all it had taken. My mouth dropped open in shock.

"H-how in the world did I win?" I asked, looking at him.

He shrugged, and the crowd busted out into cheers and applause. Blushing in embarrassment, I picked up the bottle and put my shoes back on, stepping down from the platform as Takeru did the same. He reached over and ruffled my hair a little, smirking. "Congrats, jellyfish. I get to sing in front of a hundred strangers."

"You'll be fine," I giggled, elbowing him in the stomach lightly. The people around us congradulated me and poked a bit of fun at Takeru for loosing to a girl, but he shrugged it off as they all directed us to where the public karaoke would be, in a different part of the building. We were able to use the tiem to get there to recover ourselves a bit, and I flashed him a small smile when I saw him looking at me. He smirked back as we all filed into the room, the crowd pushing him to the stage.

"You lost the bet, now you have to sing!" another guy called out, and the crowd laughed and cheered. The staff looked confused but didn't protest, letting Takeru stand up on the stage awkwardly.

"What the heck am I supposed to do?" he asked, looking down at me.

"Find a song and sing it. It doesn't matter if you're good or not, you just need to sing one song!" I smiled up at him happily.

Shaking his head, he turned to the selection screen and scrolled through the songs there, wondering what in the world he would choose. He finally paused on a song and hit it, someone offering the mic to him. He cleared his throat a few times to prepare as the first few notes of the song played. His amber eyes watched the screen closely as the lyrics began to appear, and he started to sing.

His deep voice surprised me as he sang in tune with the song, my eyes widening at just how good he sounded. My ears perked slightly as I listened, my heart flip-flopping oddly in my chest.

_"Araburu kodou gekijou ni makase_

_Sakamaku kimochi nosete_

_Mune o tsukisasu ikutsumo no itami wa_

_Ayamachi dake nokoshite iku"_

The crowd cheered some as he continued on, the blunette getting into the song more as he kept going. I swayed some with the music, smiling up at him.

"_Yosete wa kaesu tsumi sae_

_Hitorijanai to uketome tokasu_

_Konna ni mo konna ni mo_

_Massugu na me o ore wa shiranai"_

Takeru smiled back down at me as I caught his eye, starting to dance a little to the tune of the song. The crowd encouraged him on, some of them dancing themselves while others watched the god like he was heaven sent. The chorus of the song came up, and he threw his voice out whole-heartedly.

"_Kizutsuke tabun mamotte yaru ze_

_Tsuyoku kazasu hitofuri ni_

_Tada omae dake aishinuku_

_Chikai kizande inochi hatete mo!"_

* * *

Golden eyes looked up to the figure on stage, a thoughtful look in them as the boy reached down and pulled up the white haired girl he was with, much to her surprise. The crowd cheered in excitement, demanding the girl to try to dance along with the song. She started to blush and refuse, brushing the front of her cute purple dress off before deciding to give it a shot.

The figure watched as the couple continued to entertain the crowd, getting more and more into is as the song went along and approached it's crescendo. The blunette singer grabbed the girl's hand and twirled her around before pulling her in close at the slower part of the song, looking into her eyes as he sang the words sincerely, like it was only her he meant them for.

"_Sono namida kawaku made tsutaete tsudzukeru_

_Nando demo nando demo Aishiteiru ze"_

Her mouth dropped open and her blush increased tenfold, and she covered her face while the crowd whistled and encouraged the two. The song continued, and the boy released her to finish it off, the girl going back to dancing, though obviously more than a bit unbalanced.

The song faded and the couple bowed low, the crowd applauding loudly. Some shouted for an encore, but the two declined and hopped off the stage, the boy grabbing the girl's hand and guiding her through the crowd.

The figure moved then, eyes solely on the two as he stepped into their line of sight. The boy stopped and stared, his amber eyes widening in shock as the girl looked on in confusion.

* * *

"Takeru-kun, what's wrong?" I asked, my heart still going a million miles an hour from what had happened on the stage. I looked at the person who was standing in front of us, not sure if I should be wary or not.

He was a bit taller than Takeru, with long purple hair and emotionless golden eyes accenting a very handsome face. He wore a black long-sleeve shirt with yellow borders as an accent, and grey pants that rolled up to his mid-calf. He emitted a very mysterious aura, and I found myself stepping closer to my god.

"Totsuka Takeru," the boy said, his voice calm and without emotion. "This is where you've been the past few days."

I looked back and forth between the two, utterly lost and confused. The hand wrapped around mine squeezed tightly, and Takeru swallowed nervously, giving off an awkward grin.

"H-hey, brother."

My eyes practically bugged out of my head, staring at the young man before me.

_Did he just say brother?!_

* * *

**Busted!**

**Next chapter, the grilling of a god and human girl begins~**

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	12. The Brother

_If I reach to where you are_

_While wandering..._

_Samayoi nagara omae e to_

_Tadoritsuketara..._

* * *

Takeru stared at his brother nervously, feeling a strange sense of panic and embarrassment creep up the back of his neck at being caught. The other god watched him calmly as Yukino looked back and forth between them, her ocean eyes wide.

"...Come with me," Tsukito said simply, turning and walking out of the room. With a grimace the sea god followed him, gripping Yukino's hand tightly as she followed a step behind him.

"That's your brother, Tsukuyomi?" she whispered, looking up at him. He nodded and sighed heavily, mad at himself for not expecting the moon god to appear after he'd basically ditched his own world for a few days.

_I was having too much fun here to even think of going back,_ he thought to himself, trailing after Tsukito as he led them out of the arcade and karaoke and headed for a small cafe across the street.

"...Are we in trouble?" the girl asked, voice laced with the same nervousness he himself felt.

"I don't really know," he answered honestly, stopping as his brother came to a halt in front of the cafe and nodded at the door, indicating that they should go first. Takeru let go of Yukino's hand and opened the door for them, letting her go in before him.

Tsukito immediately walked up to the counter and looked up at the menu, blinking. "I'll have one green tea, nothing in it, and an..." He squinted, trying to decipher the word. "E..eclair?"

"Yes sir," the cashier jotted it down and looked at the couple. "And for you and your girlfriend sir?"

Yukino blushed and sputtered, but Takeru merely scratched the back of his neck. "I guess I'll take some water."

"And you miss?"

"..." Yukino eyed the board carefully, trying to decide. The god looked at her, wondering what she would pick.

"I'd like a hot chai latte with whipped cream, some cinnamon on top. And a slice of that chocolate cake right there as well," she said, pointing to a sinful looking cake with dark brown icing.

"Coming right up." The cashier held her hand out for the total, and Yukino paid her. They all moved to a table to sit down, Takeru and Yukino on one side, Tsukito on the other. He looked at the two of them silently, making both of them fidget uncomfortably.

"S-so, brother..." Takeru started, only to stop when the purple haired man spoke.

"I didn't know you could sing like that."

A light made itself known on his cheeks, and the blunette coughed. "Well, I wasn't really trying, it was just part of a bet I lost to her..."

"A bet?"

Yukino nodded, and then bowed her head slightly. "I'm Manabe Yukino, by the way."

"...Totsuka Tsukito," was the quiet reply. He looked at his little brother with his golden eyes, and Takeru glanced away, not sure of what to do next.

"Your order is ready!"

"Ah, I've got it!" he said, quickly standing and running over to the counter, eager to escape the tension.

I looked after Takeru in slight amazement, wondering just how bad this was going to be if he was acting this way around his older brother.

"...Manabe-san?"

I jerked my head back to the god in disguise seated in front of me. "Y-yes?" I squeaked out.

"How did you meet my brother?"

Tilting my head slightly, I couldn't help but grin at the memory. "Oh. I met him after I found a cave hidden along the beach I like to go shell-hunting and watch the sunset. I was just rambling on about my day to the pool when he suddenly appeared from it." I giggled, covering my mouth. "I didn't believe that he was a god either, I thought it was the fools at school trying to pull a prank on me."

"...I see," he said simply, accepting the tea his brother handed him as he came back. I got my cake and chai, wondering if I had said something wrong. I pulled a bite up to my mouth of the cake and bit down on it, eyes closing at once and murmuring happily at the taste.

"Is it good?" Takeru asked, leaning over slightly to peer at it while he sipped on his water.

I nodded, and speared him a bit. I held it out to him. "Try it, it's really good. I rarely get to have it too."

Blinking in slight surprise, he opened his mouth and I popped the cake in, watching him chew it with a grin. He swallowed and smirked. "Yeah, that's pretty good."

Tsukito moved in his seat slightly, drawing our attention once again. I blushed and realized that he'd just watched our little exchange, taking a sip of my lovely smooth chai to cover my red cheeks.

"So, bro," Takeru said after a few more seconds. "How are things back home?"

"Everyone is making assumptions of where you went for the past few days. They gave me the mission to find you." The god sipped his tea leisurely, seeming in no hurry.

"O-oh, sorry about that. I kind of got caught out here cause of this jellyfish."

"Hey, because of me?!" I gasped, shooting him a small glare.

"Who was the one who fell asleep while studying in the cave, and then forgot her phone the next morning?"

"And who was the one who appeared at school that afternoon then spent the night with me?" I shot back, but my grin belied my sharp tone, and he chuckled.

Tsukito looked between us, then looked at Takeru. The blue-haired god looked back. "What, brother?"

"...So technically you were pleasuring yourself this entire time."

Takeru immediately started to choke on his water, and I patted his back to try and help him breathe. He glared at the other god with his amber eyes.

"What the hell, Tsukito! Where did you get that from?"

"Pleasuring yourself?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at the blush that was now adorning his face. _What in the world?_

"Well, you're in this lady's company," Tsukito said, both ignoring my question. "And you're enjoying yourself. Isn't that pleasuring yourself as well?"

"Bro," Takeru sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. "That's not what pleasuring yourself means..."

"What are you guys _talking_ about?!" I asked, totally lost. Takeru waved his hand slightly, telling me to never mind. His brother, on the other hand, decided to answer.

"He's been disappearing in the afternoons and weekends for a month or two now, and said that what he does is a secret. I thought he was pleasuring himself, and he is."

A bright red blush appeared on my face as I sputtered and jerked my gaze to the highly embarrassed god beside me. He waved his hands in front of him and shook his head in denial.

"Bro, that's totally wrong!"

"Then what is right?" Tsukito asked, looking at the two of us with that unflappable calm.

"Yukino-chan and I are on a date, that's all!"

"..." Those golden eyes blinked, and his purple hair moved with his head as he tilted his head slightly. "You're courting her?"

It was my turn to choke on the piece of cake I'd mistakenly put in my mouth at that moment. I coughed and patted my chest, trying to breathe.

"Where did you get that from 'date?!'" Takeru demanded, the situation quickly taking an odd turn once again.

"I heard that if you date someone, you're interested in marrying them. Are you?"

"Wait, that's only in the West!" I said, feeling like my blush would never go away at this point.

"Tsukito, why are you reading books like that again..." Takeru sighed heavily, clearly having dealt with something like this before.

"It was a very informative read," was the response. Tsukito sipped his tea lightly, very elegant and proper. I couldn't help but try and fix my own posture to make a better impression on him. He looked at me all of a sudden.

"What do you think of my brother?"

I blinked in surprise, sensing the stiffening of the god at my side. "U-um, well...he's very stubborn, rash and loud," I said, remembering the way he'd acted yesterday when he picked me up from school. A small smile appeared on my lips at the sputtering protest I earned, and I poked my tongue out at him. "I'm not done yet, stupid sea monkey!"

"Of course you're not," he grumbled, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms sulkily. It just made him look adorable, and I giggled before continuing.

"And you have the habit of giving silly nicknames too. He's always calling me jellyfish, which is why I call him sea monkey." He'd also called me 'pearl,' but I didn't see the need to share that. "He's very honest and straightforward, and doesn't take any lip from anyone. He knows exactly what to do to cheer me up or get me to respond, and honestly? He's the greatest guy, er, god, I've ever met."

Tsukito looked at Takeru sharply. "She knows you're a god?"

"Well he did appear in front of me in god form," I answered, giving a shrug. "Doesn't matter much to me, he still doesn't exactly act like one. More like a spoiled brat," I teased, winking at the blunette.

"You're calling _me_ a spoiled brat?!" he demanded, his tone harsh but his eyes filled with laughter.

"Yeah I am, you spoiled rotten man!" I laughed as he growled and moved to give me a noogie, to which I darted a hand out to his belly and wiggled my fingers. "You give a noogie, I give you a good tickling," I threatened, a mischevious grin on my face as he actually hesitated.

Tsukito watched us silently, mostly training those golden eyes on me as we interacted with each other. We were starting to lose our nervousness and act like we normally would, and the moon god seemed pleased with this. He finished sipping his tea as me and Takeru finished our own, me shoving the last bite of cake into my mouth before standing and going to throw our trash away.

The three of us walked outside and stood there for a minute, wondering what exactly to do. Tsukito looked at us, tilting his head slightly. "May I join you for a while? It is refreshing to be away from our world, to be honest."

"See why I come here now, brother?" Takeru grinned at him, and received a nod. I smiled at them both.

"How about we walk around and do some shopping?" I asked, getting a yes from them both. I turned and led them both towards a nearby shopping mall, standing in the middle of the two as we walked through the doors.

We browsed for a long time, with most of it being me pointing out and explaining human things to them that they'd never seen before. Tsukito threw me off a few times with his roundabout way of thinking, and Takeru ended up laughing at a few of my attempts to correct him.

We wandered around, slowly adjusting to each other and relaxing as we got to know each other better. Tsukito was actually rather shy about some things, but on subjects where he was totally clueless it ended up being one funny mess.

At one point when we passed a women's lingire shop, he actually stopped and asked me to put some on to show him how it worked! Takeru ended up choking on nothing but air at the extremely skimpy, lacy blue corset his brother was holding up and I snatched it out of his hands, put it back, and shoved the two of them out of the shot with a raging red face. Though to be honest, I made a mental note to save some money from this adventure and go back to the store, hoping that it would be a good future investment.

When we got hungry we all sat down at the food court, putting the few bags of items we had bought beside us, the little trinkets and souvenirs inside clinking together softly. Takeru had found a nice upper armband that he had taken a liking to, while Tsukito had chosen a small bunny statue and a zen garden.

I myself hadn't found anything just yet, but I was going to keep my eye out, just in case. I wanted a memory of this day, of being on a date with Takeru for the first time.

We all joked and laughed as we ate our snacks, though Takeru kept stealing some of mine, so for revenge I grabbed a good portion of his food and stuffed it underneath part of mine, laughing at his astonished face. Tsukito kept mostly quiet as he watched us, those golden eyes of his thoughtful.

After a while we all started to tire of shopping and started to head for the entrance when something caught my eye. I stopped walking and looked over into the trinket shop, the brothers walking just a little bit ahead before realizing I wasn't with them. Takeru came back and looked into the shop.

"You see something, jellyfish?" he asked, eyeing the little items to see what had caught my attention.

"Yeah, I do," I said, moving forward and entering the shop. The cashier greeted us warmly, and I nodded in response without taking my eyes off the shiny object that had caught my attention.

Tsukito and Takeru trailed behind me as I reached forward and picked it up, turning it over in my hands carefully with a smile on my face. Deciding to get it, I turned and walked to the cashier, holding it out. "I'll take this."

"Oh, a very nice choice. The swirls are so pretty on this."

"They are," I agreed, missing the glance the brothers gave each other behind my head. She rang it up and offered to bag it, but I declined. "I'll just wear it out."

I took it from her and wrapped the silver bracelet around my wrist, clamping the little hook so that it wouldn't fall off. I turned and held it up for the boys to see, Tsukito blinking in surprise while Takeru looked impressed.

A small carved shell dangled from the silver chain, the outside of it smooth as sand and white as bone. The other side of it was so beautiful though, with a mother of pearl inlay that swirled and sparkled with many different colors in the light. A large grin appeared on Takeru's face.

"Just like you to get something related to the sea, you jellyfish," he said affectionately, and I found myself blushing and giggling.

"Come one, let's go," I said, leading the two brothers out of the mall happily. As we stepped out into the sunlight once again, I realized that it was getting on in time, the sun lowering itself closer to the horizon. I felt bitter disappointment at the realization, not wanting our time together to end just yet.

Tsukito turned to Takeru and I, drawing our attention. "I must be getting back to our world now, and tell the others where you've been."

"Ah, wait a minute, brother. Must you tell them about Yukino as well?" Takeru asked, seeming worried.

"Yes. It is my mission to tell them what is going on."

"What's so bad about others knowing you've been here with me, Takeru-kun?" I asked, something inside of me not really wanting to hear the answer to my question.

"W-well, it's...it's just..." he struggled with the words, rubbing the back of his neck and blushing as he looked away.

Tsukito looked at me. "He's embarrassed by the fact that you've captured his attention so completely with your beauty," he stated, voice ever calm even as he dropped that little bombshell.

I blushed and looked over at Takeru as he stammered, eyes wide and a light dusting of pink on his own cheeks. "Brother!"

"Manabe Yukino." Tsukito ignored his brother, grabbing my hands in his and holding them close as he looked into my eyes. I blinked, taken aback by this sudden move. "I implore you to treat my brother well. I will leave him in your capable hands and wish you nothing but happiness."

The way he sounded was like Takeru was a bride I was going to marry, and my blush increased tenfold. "E-ehhh?!"

"Brother!" Takeru almost shouted, the pink on his face darkening to a bright cherry red.

Tsukito looked at his brother and smiled slightly before releasing my hands. "Takeru, I would prefer you to return to our world by the end of tomorrow, but I will understand if you get...sidetracked. Just please do 'it' safely." And with that, the moon god walked off, quickly vanishing into the crowd before I could ask him just what he ment by 'it.'

"W-well then," I said, turning back to a flabbergasted blunette, staring after his brother incredulously. I couldn't help but laugh at his face, and he turned a slight glare on me, though it wasn't effective when he was so embarrassed. "I like your brother," I commented with a grin.

"Ugh, he can be such a pain when he gets something into his head though." A heavy sigh came from him as he looked away and stuffed his hands into his pockets again. I giggled and moved closer.

"You want to walk around for a while and see what we can do before going to watch the sunset?" I asked, delighted when he nodded. I turned and walked in the direction that headed for the beach, Takeru falling into step beside me as we fell into a comfortable chatter, mostly commenting on how his brother could be so weird at times.

As we passed by a cafe near my school, I felt the hairs on the back of my neck raise in premonition, and I found myself looking around warily.

"Something wrong, jellyfish?" Takeru asked, noticing my sudden distress.

"I'm not sure..." I said, only to stiffen as I turned my head to see a very familiar brown-haired boy running towards me. "Oh shit."

"Yukino-chan!" Kouta called out, waving and slowing as he got closer. I heard Takeru grit his teeth in anger, removing his hands from his pockets and moving closer to me as the other boy smiled down at me kindly. "Hey, I was hoping to run into you today."

"Wh-what do you want, Fujiwara-san?" I asked, frowning at the interruption. He seemed a little taken aback by the fact I used his last name instead of his first, but brushed it off as he started to talk.

"I wanted to apologize about yesterday, with Nayomi. She and I were really rude to you and your...friend." He bowed slightly. "I wanted to ask your forgiveness."

I stared at the boy in slight shock, wondering if he'd hit his head or something since I'd last seen him. When I didn't answer he straightened, a worried expression on his face as he glanced at a very irritated looking Takeru.

"Um, am I interupting something?"

I opened my mouth to respond, but the god beside me cut me off. "Yes, you are. And you're not forgiven," he added, making me turn my head to look at him. "I want you to stay away from Yukino from now on. It's clear she doesn't want you around, yet you hover like a fly."

Kouta took a slight step back at the sudden hostility, and I saw the flicker of the same emotion from yesterday in his eyes. Was that...rage? Frustration? I didn't know.

"Takeru-kun..." I murmured, gently placing a hand on his arm. He glanced back at me with a hard look in his eyes, but pulled back on his emotions.

"You leave her alone, bastard, or you'll have me to deal with." With that Takeru turned and started walking off, grabbing my hand and pulling me away from the stunned teenager. I spared a single glance back, shocked to see a face I'd never seen before on the gentle boy. His features were contorted in hate, directed at the god I followed away from where he stood.

Shivering in horror, I turned and faced forward, trying to keep up with the fast pace Takeru had set for us to get away from Kouta as quickly as possible. His back was stiff and his jaw obviously clenched, and I squeezed his hand slightly to calm him.

"It's fine, I wasn't going to forgive him anyway," I told him, sighing from all the tension.

"I don't care if you did or not, honestly," he said, voice low and tense. "I just don't want him around you. That bastard rubs me the wrong way." I heard as his teeth grind together and frowned, moving a little closer together as we walked towards the sea as the sun started to turn the sky different colors.

"He did seem like he wasn't himself today," I admired, an image of that hateful expression flitting into my mind. I shuddered some, not happy with the fact that I had seen it.

Takeru mistook my shudder as something else and sighed, making his body relax as he squeezed my hand. "It's fine. I'll protect you from anyone and everything that tries to harm you," he promised, giving me a soft smile that set my cheeks on fire and my heart racing in my chest.

"U-um, thank you," I stammered, having to glance away from that handsome face of his, or I felt like I'd melt. He was just so sweet and kind, even if a little rough around the edges. I could feel myself falling faster and harder for him the more time I spent around him, and these last few days with him in human form had just made it so much worse.

I was totally love-sick, but in the best way possible. Because if it all went well, then I would be able to be beside him from now on, with no chance of another betraying me and snatching him away. He was a stubborn one, and I knew he wouldn't be fooled by pretty words and a calculated bat of the eyelashes. I knew him, just as he knew me.

I smiled at him, gripping his hand in a surprisingly strong hold. He chuckled and walked with me to the beach, the tense air that had appeared with Kouta vanishing almost instantly as we talked. The warm feeling in my chest bloomed ever more, and I couldn't help but wish that time would stand still on this moment.

He lifted me over the guard rail at the edge of the beach, so that the wind wouldn't kick up the hem of my dress too high and expose my panties. I watched as he clambered over himself and looked at me. "Where's that one place you told me about before that you used to watch the sunset on?" he asked.

"This way," I said, quickly turning and walking towards down the familiar beach, the rocks just a minute or two away. I climbed up onto them carefully and looked back at him. "Come on, I want you to see the view."

"Hold on, jellyfish," he grumbled playfully, climbing up after me. I grinned and settled myself down at the top of the pile, looking out towards the west where the oranges and purples were painting the sky, the bright red glow of the sun warming the rocks. Takeru sat down beside me, one of his arms coming down behind me to rest as he gave an impressed whistle.

"I can see why you like it up here. It gives a perfect view."

I nodded in agreement, leaning against him ever so slightly. He shifted so that I could be more comfortable, and we watched as the colors spilled into the remaining blue of the sky, a companionable silence between us.

I lifted my chin up to feel the breeze coming off the sea, sighing in complete bliss. I heard Takeru chuckle softly, and he moved his arm to pull my body closer to his, and I blushed at how snugly I fit against him. I moved my own arm to wrap around his back, resting my head on his shoulder.

It just felt so right, being with him like this. The moves so natural, the closeness we shared. My heart was beating so fast and I had another blush, but I couldn't bring myself to really care. He didn't seem to either as he looked down at me, that perfect smile on his face.

"Neh, Takeru?" I asked, hoping he didn't mind me using his name so informally.

"Yeah, pearl?"

I blinked at the sudden change of nickname, but smiled regardless. "Want to do this again sometime soon?"

Takeru smirked, looking back at the sunset. "Yeah, I think that'd be great."

My heart nearly exploded in my chest when I heard that, and I buried my face into his shirt to hide the bright red blush on my face. I felt more than heard his chuckle as he patted my side. I moved so that I could watch the sun as well, so happy that I felt like I would burst.

Perhaps the future would be filled with more happy memories like this. I found myself hoping with all of my heart that it would be so.

After the sun set about an hour later we climbed down the rocks, landing on the sand below and heading for the cave farther down the beach. Takeru needed to return to his world if only for a while, but he did intend to come back for an extended stay again. I told him that would make my mother happy, to which he laughed.

At the entrance of the cave we paused, standing there a bit awkwardly for a minute. I didn't want to tell him goodbye just yet, but I couldn't find anything else to say.

"Yukino?" he said suddenly, and I turned my face up to look at him.

"Y-yes?"

"Can you come back here tomorrow? I'd like to go swimming with you," he admitted, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. I smiled at how cute he looked and nodded.

"I planned on it anyway. I'll make sure mom packs a good lunch for us as well!" I added happily, arms going behind my back as I smiled up at him.

He couldn't help but chuckle, and he leaned forward slightly while looking into my eyes. I froze, my blue eyes staring into deep amber, wondering if was honestly going to do what I thought he was...I found myself hoping hard for him to do it.

At the last second he turned his head slightly and kissed my cheek gently, pulling back with a teasing grin. I pouted up at him in disappointment, and he ruffled my hair gently.

"You better get on home, jellyfish, or your mother will be worried."

I sighed in reluctance but nodded. He was surrounded by a sudden flash of light, and his human form fell away, leaving his stunning god form for me to see. Smiling, I leaned forward and hugged him around the waist, taking him by surprise. After a second he returned the hug and I moved back.

"Hey, sea monkey," I said, gathering my nerves as he gave me a questioning look. Quick as a flash, I leaned up and pecked him on his cheek and jumped back, giggling at his shocked expression. "Thanks for today!" I said, then turned around and sprinted away, heart light as a feather when I looked back and saw him standing there with his hand on his cheek, a blush adorning his face.

_I take it back about yesterday. Today was the best day of my life._

* * *

Takeru watched as Yukino darted away quickly after that little surprise she'd given him, his cheek tingling slightly where her lips had landed. He was happy, but he just hadn't expected his little pearl to be so bold. Shaking his head after she vanished, he turned and walked into the cave, heading home through the portal pool in the back.

What he wasn't expecting when he appeared in his house, however, was the bunch of gods inside waiting on him with a loud cheer and raised sake cups. His eyes widened at the sight of all the others in his house.

"O-oi! What are you all doing here?!"

"Yo, Takeru-san!~" a familiar voice rang out, and the blunette looked over in surprise to see a familiar Greek God of Fertility happily drinking a bottle of sake, his cheeks stained with a classic drunk's blush. "Congrats!"

"Congrats!" the rest of the drunken gods chorused, lifting their cups in a toast before throwing the alcohol back with gusto.

"Welcome home, Takeru." The quiet voice of his brother behind him made the sea god turn around.

"Bro, what are they all doing here? Especially him." He pointed at a laughing Dionysus as he hung off a blushing goddess he happened to be flirting outrageously with.

"They're celebrating the news," he said simply.

"_What_ news?!"

"The news of your engagement, of course."

* * *

**I have to admit, I love writing Tsukito like this. Such an unintentional trouble maker. xD**

**I hope you all liked this new chapter, and continue to stick with me to the end!**


	13. The Engagement

_I'll continue to tell you until your tears dry  
__That I love you again and again_

_Sono namida kawaku made tsutaete tsudzukeru  
__Nando demo nando demo Aishiteiru ze_

* * *

Takeru stared at his brother in shock, not completely comprehending what he had just said. They were celebrating his engagement?

"H-hey, bro...you know that Yukino and I have only had one date right? That doesn't mean we're getting married," he said, voice low so no others could hear him speak to the Moon god.

"I know. They were here when I arrived and told me the announcement. It seems it was arranged without our knowledge."

Takeru's fists clenched in anger at that statement, golden eyes flashing dangerously. "And who exactly is it that I'm to marry?"

"Susano'o-sama."

The sound of a gentle voice, barely louder than a whisper, drew his attention to the shadows behind his brother. A delicate figure stepped out, adorned in beautiful silk robes of red and pink. Her pale skin was accented by her red lips and dark eyelashes that hovered over light gold eyes, and her hair was pulled up into a fashionable bun held together with golden chopsticks.

She smiled kindly at the sea god, who was staring at her in shock. "I'm the one you're arranged to marry, mi'lord."

Takeru darted his eyes to his brother, whose face was twisted into an uncomfortable grimace. He shook his head, turning back to the goddess.

"Kushinada-hime, I don't understand. Why have I been betrothed to you so suddenly?"

She inclined her head slightly, motioning for them to take a walk outside to speak in private. Frowning slightly, Takeru did as she bid, winding his way around and sometimes over the drunken patrons in his house. The moon was rising in the sky, full as it always was in this world and shining down with its misty light. The goddess turned to him under the cherry tree and reguarded him seriously.

"I want you to know that I was the one who requested for the engagement, Susano'o-sama. If you wish to be mad at anyone, direct your anger towards me."

"Why?" he demanded, looking down at Kushinada with frustration glittering in his eyes.

"Because it is a highly advantageous arrangement," she said calmly, lifting a hand to brush back a lock of hair that had fallen out of place. "I am the daughter of a high god, and you are one of the more important ones in the lower caste. To be wed to me will mean that your status will-"

"I don't care about status or things like that," he interrupted her, not caring as she frowned at his rudeness. "What I care about was that this was done without my consent. I refuse this engagement."

"It is already done, however," she said, sighing as though his words wounded her. "We are to be wed by the end of summer."

"I will not allow it," Takeru protested, his eyes flashing in rage. "I will go to the Emperor himself if I must."

"He is the one to have approved it."

That made the sea god pause, his rage being replaced with shock. The Emperor himself, the one who ruled over the Japanese gods, had sanctioned his engagement?

"No way..." His thoughts immediately flew to Yukino in her world. What was she going to think? He had practically confessed he liked her when he had taken her close while singing on the stage, and he sure as hell wasn't going to take it back. His fists clenched, and he looked down at the fragile goddess before him with a deadly rage.

"I'm sorry, Kushinada-hime, but I still refuse. I will go and ask the Emperor to reconsider his decision in the morning."

"And if he refuses? What will you do?" she asked, pulling out a delicate lace fan and hiding her lips behind it.

"I'll make sure he doesn't refuse." Takeru turned around and stormed back to his house, seething in anger and worry. He had to find a way to break this engagement off and fast. He refused to even consider marrying anyone at this point in time, not when he was interested in a certain contrary human girl.

On the surface what he felt was rage, but deep down, he was panicking. The Emperor had approved of this, and it was highly unlikely that he would change his mind over something like this. Ever since the accident with the goddess who raised him he had been an outcast, with others looking for ways to pin him down, to control his power. And this marriage had presented the perfect opportunity.

As he stepped back over the gods passed out on the floor and made his way to his room, Takeru felt an emotion he detested greatly, and had only felt a few times before in the past. He felt like he was helpless to change what was happening, and it didn't sit well with him at all. He flopped onto his futon and stared at the ceiling, a million questions running through his head.

What should he do? Even if the Emperor called it off, he had a feeling that Kushinada wouldn't be so easily swayed. He had to admit, she was a very attractive goddess, well bred and elegant. But there just was something that put him off, and wasn't his attraction to Yukino. It'd always been there, and why he'd avoided the high-born lady when he saw her. It wasn't that he thought she was better than them; no, he realized with a frown. It was because she saw herself above _him._

So why? Why would she chose him of all gods to capture in an arranged marriage? Many of his fellow deities had tried to woo the elusive goddess, but had been turned away by either her father or herself personally. It made him angry, and yet he wanted to know what her motives were.

The biggest question in his mind was what he was going to tell Yukino. His biggest fear was that of rejection, after all the time they had spent getting to know each other and how close they had become. She trusted him so completely, he could see it in the way she looked at him. To betray that trust by rejecting her affections...Takeru had a feeling that nothing would be able to get close to her again.

She wouldn't be a jellyfish anymore, with her stingers ready for danger and her head ready to be bopped, she would turn into an urchin. Nothing would be able to come near her without her spines harming them, and nothing would be able to get close without hurting her in return. He refused to bring her that pain. Takeru would protect her, even if he had to lay down his life to do so.

The sea god just hoped that he would be able to clear up this engagement mess before she found out, because he knew that if he failed, neither would be able to survive the aftermath.

* * *

The next morning I was up early and dashing around the house, preparing for an all day trip to the beach. Mom had made food the night before for me to take, as she'd been called back to work suddenly, having to head back up north. I wasn't happy to hear that she had to go so soon, but I was glad to at least have her home for a while, even meet Takeru.

I was giddy thinking of all the fun we'd have today. I pushed the towels for us to use into the bag along with sunscreen and a few dry snacks, using a cooler for the chilled food. Once everything was prepared, I decided to go ahead and get dressed for swimming.

Only...when I looked for the swimsuits I owned, none of them were to be found. Panicking, I rushed around the house trying to find them. On a whim I opened my mother's door, seeing something laid out on her futon. Curious, I moved forward and blushed at the sight of the rather skimpy bikini that lay on the blanket. A little note was on top, and I quickly read it.

_Hi sweety! I know you're wanting to wear one of your other suits, but I thought they were too small for you so I hid them. Wear this instead, and go get that boy of yours! Love, Mom._

"Are you _serious?!_" I screeched, crumpling up the message and raging at my meddling mother. She had to be laughing as she traveled up north, knowing what she'd done.

Sighing I grabbed the bikini and marched to my room to put it on, having no other option, because I sure as hell was not going to go skinny dipping in the ocean in the middle of the day. I pulled a nice green summer dress over the bikini, already knowing that it was going to be an awkward time. Grabbing the cooler and bag of towels I walked out of my apartment, eager to be at the beach.

I rushed the walk there, so I got there more quickly than normal. I slid inside the cave and walked to the back, not even having to turn sideways to fit through the narrow passages anymore. I stood before the Light Pool after placing things to the side, caressing the pretty white pearl that lay against my throat.

"Takeru...Takeru...Takeru~" I called, waiting for the warm feeling to come from the pearl as it always did when he heard me.

Then it remained cold, I frowned slightly. Maybe if I said it louder... "Takeru, Takeru, Takeru!"

...It was still cold.

_Maybe he's just busy. He did skip a few days of his duties,_ I reasoned. I decided to go ahead and set things up outside the cave, and grabbed the bags as I walked back to the entrance, hoping he would come.

* * *

Takeru grimaced when he heard her call him, causing the elder man before him to narrow his eyes suspiciously at the twinge of magic that came from the call. He swallowed nervously, keeping his head bowed in respect to the Emperor as he silently asked Yukino to be patient.

She called only once more before stopping. Thanking her, Takeru risked a glance up from where he was bowing to the wrinkled god before him sitting on the throne.

"You do not wish to be married to Kushinada-hime, even though this would improve your status among the gods? You know you are not that popular, and this would be a chance to find acceptance in the higher caste."

"Mi'lord, such things have never interested me. I am happy with my position now, and have no thirst for a higher seat. What mainly concerns me is the fact that I was not allowed an opinion in the settling of this arrangement."

"There was a reason for that." The Emperor stroked his long grey beard, watching the young god before him as he fidgeted. "You were not contacted not only because you had been shirking your duties as a god, but also you had disappeared, not telling anyone you had gone to the human world. Your brother had to be sent to retrieve you in the end. Else I doubt you would have returned for a much longer time."

Takeru gritted his teeth, knowing that the old god was right about that. He'd been so happy with Yukino that he'd all but forgotten that he was a god. He glanced up again with his gold eyes, seeing the Emperor watching him carefully. "I apologize for that deeply, mi'lord, but I must admit I cannot regret it."

"...You were with a human girl."

Takeru's head jerked up in surprise, forgetting his manners in his shock. "H-how did you-"

"Tsukuyomi told me upon his return, as was his duty. You were courting this human, were you not?"

He hesitated, not exactly sure how to answer that question. "I am considering dating her, yes."

"Then answer me this: what is so special about this one little human? She will grow old and die, and you will live for far longer than she ever will. Do you really wish to risk such sorrow?"

"...Yes." The Sea god's answer was firm, no doubt within his tone. "Yukino is special to me because of who she is, human or not. She is loyal, fierce to protect herself and those she cares for. She knows how to stand up for herself, and can make me calm just by thinking of her smile." A smile of his own appeared on his face, his eyes softening.

"Hm..." The Emperor leaned back in his throne, regarding the young god seriously. The silence stretched for what seemed an eternity, and Takeru found himself praying hard, hoping that maybe, just maybe...

"I'm afraid that even though you like this human girl, the engagement will still stand. You will marry Kushinada-hime by summer's end. If you continue to refuse, you _will_ be punished. Do I make myself clear, Susano'o?"

His heart dropped into his stomach, and Takeru had to swallow the bitterness that welled inside. He lowered his head in respect, though he felt like he would die. "Yes, mi'lord." He rose to his feet and turned to leave.

"Oh, and another thing."

The elder god stopped him before he reached the door. Takeru looked back, eyes hard as stone.

"You will have to leave that human girl behind. I will not here of you running off again to see her. You have two weeks to make sure she gets the message. Any contact after that, and there will be repercussion for both of you."

Fury flashed through him as he heard the direct threat at Yukino, but there was nothing he could do. Gritting his teeth, the storm god marched out of there and out of the palace, despair and rage mingling together to form an acidic mixture in his mouth.

Why? he wondered, slamming the shojo to his house open and punching a wall with his fist so hard that the wood cracked. Why did this have to happen? After he was finally happy, why? The helpless feeling from the previous night invaded his body once more, causing a cold shudder to run up his spine. Takeru pressed his forehead against the cracked beams, his breathing increasing as he did the best to control himself.

Once again he heard her voice in his mind, calling him with a note of worry in her tone. She was still waiting on him, unaware of what had happened since she'd last seen him. Today they were going to play on the beach, he remembered, staring at the walls of his house in anguish. How was he supposed to go and be with her when he knew that soon he'd have to break her heart?

Taking a shuddering breath to steady himself, Takeru pushed himself off the beam and sent the reply to her summons, feeling her relief as the pearl responded. For now, he would pretend. He would pretend that he was going to be with her forever. Pretend that he wasn't engaged to another.

He would pretend that he wasn't going to wound her to her very soul in the coming weeks.

* * *

I felt my knees go weak when the pearl warmed beneath my finger, sighing in relief. I sat on the towels I'd laid out near the cave, already slathered head to toe in sunscreen to prevent myself from burning like a leaf in fire. I turned to watch the cave entrance, grinning as I saw a familiar form move from the shadows and into the sunlight.

"There you are!" I called out to him, scrambling to my feet and running over as Takeru shielded his eyes from the bright light. I tackled him in a hug, making him 'oof' and stumble back a step.

"H-hey," he protested, looking down at me and I wrapped my arms around him tightly. I tilted my head up and gave him a cheeky grin.

"You're late, sea monkey," I scolded, wriggling my fingers against his sides. "Now take your punishment!"

He let out a laugh and pushed me away, a large scowl appearing on his face, though I could see the laughter in his eyes. And...perhaps a bit of relief? I didn't ponder it too much, turning and nodding at the set up I'd made.

"I brought everything we'll need. Though," I added, eyeing his armor skeptically. "I didn't bring a guy's swimsuit."

He blinked, then let out a short laugh before turning human. He stood before me in a pair of black trunks with yellow lines on the sides of the legs, his chest mouthwateringly bare for me to see. I allowed myself to stare at the sight for a few seconds to commit it to memory before turning away.

"Here, put on some sunscreen so you don't burn." I handed him the bottle before looking down at my sun dress, wondering if I should go ahead and take it off. I blushed just thinking of the suit I had on, but unless I wanted to get my dress wet, I'd have to take it off.

Takeru turned around so he could apply the sunblock, giving me a chance to steel my nerves before slipping the dress off and fold it neatly. I set it on the towels and turned to look at him as he tried to cover his back.

"Here, I'll help with that," I offered, walking closer to him as he turned a little to see me. I wasn't expecting his reaction, however. His head turned in a snap to fully face me, his amber eyes widening so much I thought they'd fall out as they roamed over my exposed body.

I flushed horribly, looking down at the very skimpy, very tight string bikini I wore, it's blue and white patterns standing out against my pale skin. I looked up at him through my eyelashes, burning up in embarrassment as I offered a tiny smile. "mom got this for me and hid my other suits..."

"Remind me to thank her," I thought I heard him mutter, his gaze still locked onto me. The admiration in his eyes gave me a bit of confidence, and I hugged my chest some, making what cleavage I had stand out all the more.

"Want me to help you with your back now? I still need to get mine as well."

Wordlessly he nodded, holding out the bottle for me to take. Giggling nervously, I circled around his back and moved his ponytail out of the way before pouring the sunblock into my hands and placing them on his back, rubbing it in very carefully. I would hate for him to get burned by the sun, though as God of the Sea he probably got more sun exposure than I ever knew of.

I patted his back when I was done, handing the bottle back. "Can you get mine now?" I turned and moved my shoulder-length hair out of the way, gazing down at the sand and praying that my face would cool, though that was highly unlikely.

I swore I heard him mutter a curse under his breath as he opened the bottle and got a fair amount of the lotion. A few seconds later the cool liquid came in contact with my back, causing me to emit a high-pitched squeak and jump. "C-cold!"

"Sorry, sorry!" he apologized, but I heard him chuckle softly as he continued to smooth the protective stuff over my skin, his fingers grazing my lightly every few seconds. I barely managed to keep myself from shivering, but there was nothing I could do about the goosebumps that appeared on my arms as he kept teasing me.

All too soon he was done, patting the top of my head and handing me the bottle. I closed the lid and put it down, missing the warmth of his skin on mine. _Perhaps we'll have to put more on later, we will be here all day,_I mused, standing and smiling at him.

"You ready? Or do you need a few minutes to get your courage?" I teased, laughing at his vicious scowl.

"The God of the Sea gather his courage? You're so funny I forgot to laugh."

"Whatever you say, sea monkey. Race you!" I shouted, suddenly darting in the direction of the surf. I heard him protest the unfairness of a head start as he chased me, and I threw my head back and laughed in delight.

The surf splashed everywhere as I hit the water, my steps slowing as I ploughed through the waves into deeper water. When I hit my waist I took a deep breath and dove forward, immersing myself in the warm liquid. I heard Takeru not far behind me and I kicked my legs to swim forward, trying to escape.

It was unfortunate for me that it didn't work, and I felt his strong arms wrap around my waist and hoist me to the surface. I blew the water out of my face and squealed happily, wriggling as he tried to keep a grip on me.

"That wasn't a fair race, jellyfish!" he growled into my ear, digging his nails into my skin before moving his fingers against my exposed sides. I screamed bloody murder at the sensation and thrashed in his arms, laughing as I tried to get away from his sudden assault. He was stronger than his short stature let on, though, and kept me there as he dealt his revenge.

"O-okay, I give! No more!" I gasped, some salt water splashing into my mouth and causing me to spit. Takeru finally relented, lowering me back so I was standing with him in chest-deep water. His arms stayed wrapped around me rather loosely, so I could get away if I wanted to. Which I had no intention of.

I turned my head and pouted back at him, noticing the slight blush that formed on his face as he glanced away. Giggling, I leaned back against him, enjoying the feel of the water moving against our bodies. The blunette seemed content to stay there as well, as he rested his chin on my shoulder and closed his eyes.

We stayed like that for a minute before moving apart and actually starting to swim, both of us taking turns feeling the sand with our feet to see if we could find anything of interest. A few times we actually hit something, pulling up a strange shell or rock. Other times whatever we touched would move to escape and we quickly moved our feet to another area, not wishing to be bitten or, gods forbid, pinched.

I floated on my back as the sun reached its peek, closing my eyes and letting the water rock me as it moved towards the shore, breaking into gently rolling waves in the shallow areas before the sand appeared from the waters. Takeru followed my example and lay on his back, one of his hands reaching over to find mine and lightly twine our fingers so we wouldn't drift apart.

I let my eyes flutter closed as the sun warmed my body and the water around me, listening to the sound of the currents as my ears dipped below the surface. A contented sigh passed my lips, feeling like nothing could ruin this moment...

And then through the water, I heard Takeru's stomach give an angry growl for food.

I busted out laughing, but unbalanced myself and sank under the water. I came back up spitting and sputtering, rubbing my nose to rid it of the stinging salt water that had flooded the chamber. the sea god stopped floating to stand beside me and rub my back as I coughed, half smirking at my misfortune.

"What brought that on?" he asked, blinking those amber eyes down at me.

"I heard your stomach talking," I said, sneezing and wincing at the slight pain. "Did you eat breakfast today?"

A dark shadow passed over his face for a split second, but it was gone so fast I doubted myself, thinking I'd just snorted a bit too much sea water. "No, I didn't eat this morning. I was...busy."

"Well, let's go and eat some lunch. Mom made it last night before she left for work."

"She's gone already?" he asked as we moved to shore, wringing out our dripping hair to not get the towels wet.

"Yeah, she got called back and left this morning. Not before she stole my swimsuits and left me this one though." I scowled as I flopped on the towels, reaching for the cooler.

"...I like it, you know."

I paused, looking over at him while I was leaning back to get to the food. "Like what?"

"Y-you're bathing suit...it's nice," he muttered, looking away with that cute embarrassed look on his face. I mentally squealed at him as I handed him a sandwich I'd grabbed out of the cooler.

"Thanks. Yours is too, actually." I got my own sandwich and unwrapped it, biting into the cool treat with a happy murmur. Takeru chuckled as he ate his as well, his sandwich disappearing with surprising swiftness. I handed him another one, laughing as he ate that one just as fast as the first.

"Slow down, you're going to choke on it," I cautioned, handing him the third and final sandwich. I peeled the crust off of my own carefully, placing it down for later and finished off my first as he was halfway through his last.

He lay on his back with a satisfied sigh when he was done, arms behind his head and his body stretched out for me to oogle from where I was sitting. Human or god form, it didn't matter to me, this man was the sexiest, most handsome one out there that anyone could find, and I planned on enjoying every second I got with him in his swim trunks.

I peeled the crust off my second sandwich as a few gulls started to circle overhead, calling down to us as they saw the food we had. I smiled up at them and ate my food quickly then, saving my third sandwich for later. I grabbed the crusts and stood up, drawing Takeru's attention as he watched me from where he was.

I walked about a foot away from the towels and showed off the bread to the birds hovering overhead, and their calls grew louder and they floated in front of me, watching as I moved my arm up and down, preparing to toss it up.

I jerked my arm up and released the first piece, the air in front of me suddenly full of feathers and squabbling sounds for a few seconds till they all broke apart and resumed their effortless hovering, eagerly waiting for me to throw the rest. Laughing at their silly antics, I threw up some more and watched the ones lucky enough to get the food practically choke on it to get it in their bellies.

One younger bird swooped very close to my face, giving a few loud squawks in a demanding tone. Smiling, I put a long piece of crust in my mouth and offered it to him. He hesitated for a few seconds, then adjusted his wings so that he darted in, grabbed it from my mouth, and flew away quickly, downing the piece as fast as he could. I looked over at Takeru and grinned cheekily, seeing his warm smile as he sat up to watch me give the rest away.

Once the last of crust was gone I showed my hands to the birds, waving them to tell that I had no more. They got the message after a few seconds and dispersed, their loud calls echoing on the warm wind from the sea. I watched them with a slightly jealous expression, marveling how lucky they were to have been born with the gift of flight.

I turned to look back at Takeru, but he wasn't looking at me anymore. He watched as the birds flew away, his eyes distant and a heartbreaking expression of sadness on his handsome face. I frowned and walked over to him, kneeling down and tilting my head slightly.

"Takeru-kun, are you alright?"

The god jumped slightly, looking surprised to see me so close to him. "O-oh, yeah. I was just thinking about something," he said, turning his head away so he wouldn't meet my eyes.

My lips turned down a little farther, and I reached my hand over to his chin, taking it gently between my thumb and forefinger. He let his head be moved, those sad amber eyes meeting my ocean blues.

"What's wrong, sea monkey?" I asked softly, imploring him to let me know. If something was off, perhaps I could fix it for him.

"...It's nothing." He sighed and closed his eyes, reaching up and covering my hand with his own. His skin was warm and I blushed lightly at the contact, feeling my heart tremble at the sight of him so down all of a sudden. "I got scolded for being away so long, that's all."

I blinked, eyes widening ever so slightly. "They scold gods?"

A slight smirk appeared, but it never reached his eyes. "Yeah, they do when they skip their duties for a few days. The Emperor wasn't pleased that I'd played hooky in the human world."

"The Emperor?" I echoed, tilting my head.

The blunette nodded, using the grip on my hand to tug me down into a hug. I stiffened as he pulled me on top of him and wrapped his arms around me, holding me as close as he could. Shocked at this sudden position I wriggled slightly, moving so my legs were to the side while my rear end sat snugly in his lap, the upper part of me in his embrace.

"T-takeru?" I whispered, at once elated to be held by him but wary of his sudden mood change. This was so unlike him...it must have been one hell of a scolding.

"The Emperor is the one who reigns over the Japanese deities, including me and Tsukito," he explained, his mouth right beside my ear so he didn't have to talk loudly. I gulped nervously, slowly moving my arms up to hug him back, feeling he needed the comfort I could give him. "He's a real jerk, thinking he can do what he wants with the rest of us. He can even make gods and goddesses marry if he so wishes them to."

"Against their will?" I asked, horrified at the thought of an arranged marriage.

"Yes, and he can also deny them the same." Takeru's grip tightened on me slightly, and I felt a shiver run up my spine. "He told me that I was in deep trouble for staying here the last few days, saying that I wasn't to do it again."

"...You have to listen to him, don't you?" I realized, pulling back slightly to look my god in his amber eyes, my own filled with the sadness I was feeling at his lack of freedom.

"Unfortunately. Those who don't are either executed or banished." He loosened his arms, allowing me to move a few inches back. My heart skipped a beat at the expression he wore, dark and mutinous and full of helpless rage.

I tilted his chin upwards and leaned forward, placing a kiss in the middle of his forehead to his surprise. I pulled back and smiled reassuringly. "It'll be fine, Takeru-kun, I promise."

"...Yeah, it will be." His lips tilted upwards, and I returned it.

"There's that smile I was missing. Now, why don't we go back and have some fun in the surf?" I suggested, wanting to distract him from his anger.

Takeru nodded and we both stood up, walking down to the waves instead of running. I shivered as the water cooled my body off rapidly, and I dove in when I was up to my waist so my body would adjust to the temperature faster. I let myself sink down to the sand below and dug my hands into it so I would stay in place, testing to see how long I could hold my breath as I closed my eyes and started to count.

I had reached around forty when the waves above me hit harder than normal, and I was shocked out of my trance. I surface quickly, wiping the salt out of my eyes and looking around for my partner.

I saw his signature blue hair off in the distance, much farther out than I knew was safe with only the two of us here. I panicked slightly and started to swim for him, choosing to do a breaststroke to cut through the water quickly.

"Takeru-kun!" I called out to him, noticing he was heading for where the second line of breaking waves was, seeming to not really care. "Takeru, wait!"

He didn't seem to hear me, and I gritted my teeth. Against my better judgement I kept swimming out towards him, the sea level long since over my meager height. As much as I loved the sea, being out so far with no safety precautions was making me jumpy, and I constantly glanced around to make sure nothing was around me.

Takeru ducked under a wave as it started to form, disappearing beneath the surf. I dove under as well when it reached me, feeling the force of it push me back a few feet. I gritted my teeth and surfaced again, wiping my eyes and looking for him.

I saw no sign of him in any direction, and my unease spiked into panic as I tread water, my head jerking left and right, desperate to get even a glimpse of him. "T-takeru!" I shouted, turning to face the shore in hopes he might have headed back.

I saw nothing, but when I turned around I saw the waves that had peeked and was now crashing down towards me. I had no chance to brace myself as the thundering water hit me with its full force, knocking the air out of my lungs.

On instinct I inhaled to regain my breath, only to choke as water flooded my lungs instead. I flailed wildly to reach the surface, my airways feeling like they were on fire. My legs refused to work together, instead spasming in odd directions that made me sink rather than raise me to the surface.

Another wave crashed down on my then, pushing me farther into the water and away from the shining surface. I desperately tried to move up, feeling my arms give out and my legs following not a second later. I tried to scream, but nothing came out except the last bit of air I'd had within me, and I sank like a stone.

_I'm drowning,_ I realized distantly, staring up towards the sunlight dancing on the waves as they rolled over where I was, the currents pushing my limp body back and forth. I was terrified, my mind racing to try and find a solution to get out of this situation, but my body was shutting down, darkness already edging my vision. I fought to stay conscious, hoping, praying for a miracle.

I heard a loud splashing sound off somewhere, like a body hitting the water. I turned my head slightly in the direction it came from, blinking slowly as a familiar figure swam towards me quickly. Takeru's amber eyes were wide in panic, and I forced myself to smile a little as I felt him grab my hand.

_Everything will be alright now..._

My world went black.

* * *

"Dammit!" Takeru shouted as he breached the surface, pulling Yukino's limp body towards the shore as quickly as he could. She had lost consciousness just as he'd reached her, which didn't help him in getting her to safety.

"Shit, not this!" he pleaded, his chest tightening in terror. As soon as his feet hit sand he ploughed his way out of the shallows, dropping her onto the earth while the waves lapped at her legs. He knelt over her and listened for a breath, a heartbeat, anything. He felt a faint pulse, but she wasn't breathing.

He pushed down on her chest, remembering back to his school days when they were taught life saving techniques. He hadn't thought of them as important then, but at this very moment he was grateful that Thoth had shoved the knowledge into them. He timed the pushes like he had been taught, but nothing came out of her lips, which were now turning blue.

Takeru paused and looked at her face, trying to recall the rest of the lesson. The image of how to push air into the other came from his memory, as well as the word 'cpr.' Grimacing, the god tilted Yukino's head back slightly and placed his mouth over hers, taking a deep breath and blowing air into her lungs before pulling back and pressing on her chest again.

A slight wheezing sound passing her lips encouraged him, and he pressed his mouth back against hers, giving her as much air as he could before pressing once, twice, three times more. He prayed like he'd never prayed before, hoping that someone, anyone, would listen, would help him...

Suddenly the girl's body convulsed, her head jerking to the side as water spewed from her mouth, her coughing forcing it out of her lungs as she took deep gulps of the salty air. Takeru cried out in relief and pulled her close, rubbing her back while she inhaled and coughed up more water, making it dribble down her face, but he didn't care.

"Ugh...T-takeru?" she said, her voice raspy from the force of her coughs. Shuddering in relief, the god pulled her body up against his, holding back the stinging tears behind his eyes.

"You're okay..." he said, voice trembling. Her pretty blue eyes blinked slowly up at him before she turned her head and snuggled closer to him, still breathing heavily. "What in the world were you doing that far out?!" he demanded, tucking her head under his chin in a protective gesture.

"I s-saw you go out there...I wanted to...make sure you were okay." She shivered in his arms despite the warm summer sun shining down on them.

Cursing his own stupidity for not noticing her as she had come after him, he gathered her and took her to where the towels were still spread out, grabbing one and wrapping it around her tightly before sitting down on the other one with her in his lap, refusing to let her go far. She didn't protest, gladly curling up to get some of his body heat.

"Don't you ever do something that stupid again," he scolded her, but his voice broke halfway through the words, another shudder running down his back. _I almost lost her..._

"I won't, Takeru. I promise." Yukino smiled up at him softly, her eyes fluttering closed as she relaxed against him, exhausted from the struggle. He watched as she slipped into sleep, his heart clenching in pain.

He had saved her, but he still had to condemn her to a worse fate in the near future. That fact overshadowed his relief in her surviving, and his arms tightened around her even more.

"I'm so sorry, pearl," he choked out, allowing a single tear to escape and fall onto her face.

So focused on the girl in his arms, Takeru failed to notice the figure watching from the shadows of the cave, their hand raising to their lips in thought as they watched the young god cry in relief that the human would live. They turned around and headed back into the cave, a thoughtful expression upon their features. They raised their arms, and the waters of the Light Pool engulfed them, letting them leave the human world without a trace.

* * *

**I was seriously nearly crying myself while writing this chapter. So much sadness and heartache in one place.**

**A thanks to my wonderful reviewers and followers as well as my silent supporters. Any thought on this new twist is appreciated. Ja ne!**


	14. The Goodbye

_You might get hurt so I'll protect you_

_Holding up strongly with one swing_

_Kizutsuke tabun mamotte yaru ze_

_Tsuyoku kazasu hitofuri ni_

* * *

I woke up slowly, feeling my throat raw and my head spinning rapidly. Groaning slightly, I forced my eyes to open when I felt a pair of arms tighten around me. The light was rather bright, telling me that I hadn't been out for long after I'd been revived by the god holding me protectively against his body.

"Don't push yourself," I heard him murmur, those amber eyes looking down at me in great relief. I gave him a tiny smile before trying to sit up a little, letting him help me as I stretched out my muscles.

"I think I'm fine," I rasped, coughing as the feeling in my throat irritated it. "Can I have some water?"

Takeru nodded and leaned back, reaching into the cooler nearby and handing me a water bottle. I opened it quickly and downed the whole thing in one go, the cool liquid bringing relief instantaneously. I took a lovely deep breath, relishing the salty tinge in the breeze before setting the bottle aside.

"Help me stand up," I said, shifting in his lap slightly to make it easier for him to get up.

The god hesitated, eyeing me carefully for a few seconds before relenting with a nod. He cradled me in his arms as he stood, making me blush at the intimacy of such a position, and lowered me to my feet as slowly as I needed. The sand beneath my feet was nice and warm, if edging on just a bit too hot.

Takeru let me lean against him as I tested the strength of my legs by taking a step or two. I was pleased with myself when they only shook a little bit, already recovering from the near-accident earlier. I turned my head and smiled at the blunette who was watching me very closely.

"I'm fine, I really am." I leaned up and pecked him lightly on the cheek. "Thank you for saving me, Takeru-kun."

A light blush appeared on his skin and he glanced away, scratching his cheek with a finger. "Just promise to not do something that stupid again, okay? I lost about a hundred years off my life."

"I promise," I said, meaning it. After seeing how worried and panicked he'd become, I wouldn't be able to risk my neck like that again without thinking of this day. "Hey, at least now you have an excuse."

He glanced over at me with those pretty amber eyes of his. "What excuse?"

"An excuse to come check up on me every once in a while, since you're being 'grounded' by the Emperor." I smirked as he rolled his eyes. Once again a dark expression crossed his face, and I wondered what thoughts had passed through his mind. "Now, what do you want to do?"

"You're not going swimming again so soon," Takeru said fiercely, giving me a firm glare. I snorted in response.

"No thanks, I've had enough of the water for now. I meant more along the lines of maybe building a sand castle or shell hunting."

He lost the stern expression and relaxed visibly. "That we can do."

I grinned and walked over, taking his hand and tugging towards the shore. "Then let's go."

Thankfully for the both of us, the rest of the day passed without incident. Honestly, if something had happened again, I think Takeru would have just picked me up and taken me back into the cave just so he could keep me safe. I wouldn't have minded it, but every other step he was giving me a weird expression, as if he wanted to say something about my condition.

As the sun started to set I slipped my sun dress back on, knocking the stray sand back onto the beach. The towels and cooler were already packed and ready to go, and I sighed in slight disappointment that the day was over.

"Oi, jellyfish! Are you done yet?" Takeru called from the cave entrance, already back in his god form. His golden eyes looked me up and down again, and he looked like he'd prefer to walk me back home, but that wouldn't be a good idea if he was on a short rope with his own world.

"Yeah, I'm done," I answered, picking up the items and walking towards him to say goodbye. As I got close, he reached out and pulled me into an embrace, making me squeak in surprise. I tried to step back, but the arms around me tightened and I stilled, sensing an odd aura from the god in front of me. "T...takeru?"

He didn't respond, but I felt one of his hands lift up to stroke the back of my head, petting me gently as he held me close. His cheek was pressed against my temple, my hands resting on his back as I returned the hug. I closed my eyes and let myself lean into his warm body, enjoying the feeling of being this close to him. My heart swelled in emotion, and I nuzzled his shoulder a little.

Takeru chuckled lightly before pulling back and looking at me. I blinked at the many emotions showing in those bright gold eyes of his, but what made me blush and my heart start to pound was the overwhelming look of love that he was directing at me. Only me. I swallowed the lump in my throat and smiled up at him, feeling the same love shine through my ocean blue orbs.

The hand that had been petting me moved to cup my chin gently, tilting my head up slightly. My breath froze in my throat as the blunette leaned in slowly, keeping his eyes locked with mine as very softly, hesitantly, he laid his lips over mine in a tender kiss.

It felt like lightning had just struck me, the sensation of our lips touching. My face burned as I let my eyes flutter shut as he pressed those lips more firmly against mine, fully capturing my mouth and making my entire world tilt at a crazy angle. I gripped his back with my hands so I wouldn't fall over as I very softly kissed him back, a tiny whimper escaping my throat.

We stayed like that for a minute or so before pulling back, our eyes reopening and gazing at the other. He had his own blush upon his cheeks, the thumb of his hand upon my face gently stroking my cheek as I smiled up at him. My heart felt like it would explode out of my chest from the joy of finally having kissed the god I'd fallen in love with, and the butterflies in my stomach flitted around madly.

"There," he muttered, leaning in again to peck my lips once more before speaking. "Now I've left you something to remember till I can come back."

I blinked up at him, leaning my head into his hand a little more. "What do you mean, till you come back?"

"I'm grounded, remember?" An amused smirk graced his handsome face. I pouted slightly as I remembered that little fact.

"Promise you won't be gone too long?" I pleaded up at him, not comfortable about the fact that I wouldn't be able to see him for even a few days.

He hesitated then, a strange sadness filling those emotional eyes. I frowned, a tiny instinct warning me that something bad was going on, something he couldn't or wouldn't tell me. I reached up and put a hand over his, squeezing it for reassurance.

Takeru closed his eyes and sighed in acceptance, placing his forehead against mine. "I promise to be back as soon as I can. If I want to meet, you'll hear me call you through the pearl." His hand dropped from my cheek to run his fingers down my neck, making me shiver as he reached the pearl and lightly touched it. I felt a strange tingling sensation as it glowed for a few seconds before fading, the sunset starting to dye it orange and red.

"I'll listen carefully every day," I promised, leaning up and kissing him as boldly as I dared. He made a startled noise before kissing back, unable to help himself. I pulled back and moved away, smiling at him with all the love I felt for him. "Be safe, Takeru."

"You too, pearl." The god smiled back before turning and sliding into the cave, disappearing into the darkness within and leaving me alone on the beach. I reluctantly turned and headed for home, my head still spinning from happiness at finally gaining a kiss from him.

However, that one little voice in the back of my head reminded me of that dark look he'd had, not just once but at several points during our day. I frowned slightly, wondering what could possibly be going on with him when I wasn't around to distract him from his troubles.

These thoughts plagued me as I walked the painted streets while the sun lowered from the sky. I stared at the shadow before me on the ground, not paying close attention to where I was going. And since I wasn't being observant, I of course ended up running into another person.

I quickly moved back from them, looking up and opening my mouth to apologize, only to have the breath in my lungs halt any sound I would have made. My eyes narrowed at the startled girl before me, my lips twisting into a grimace.

Nayomi looked at me in surprise, clearly not expecting to see me. She was wearing a very preppy looking outfit, with her hair pulled into a nice ponytail and a sunhat upon her head. Her dark eyes looked me up and down, taking in my rather bedraggled, sun-soaked appearance before smirking. I could immediately tell where this was going to go.

"Well, it seems someone had some fun in the sun," she said airily, turning to face me. I rolled my eyes and moved to walk around her, not even wanting to bother.

"Did you have fun on your date the other day with that short boy? Kouta-kun said you two were rude the other day when he went to apologize."

That, however, made me stop. I turned and gave a ferocious look at her, feeling satisfied when I took her off guard and made her take a step back at the deadly aura I gave off.

"Don't talk, don't even mention anything about me and Takeru-kun," I spat at her, eyes blazing at the suddenly scared teenager, seeing her eyes widen impossibly at me. "You have nothing to do with us, and neither does Fujiwara-san. Mind your own business for once, and get out of my life."

Not staying to take in her mouth dropping open in astonishment, I whirled around and stomped away, my mood soured by the encounter. Not the way I had wanted to end the day, by having to see that lying bitch's face.

I marched up to my apartment in record time, huffing as I set the cooler and towels down to start unpacking place was eerily silent with only me in the house, and I felt the sting of loneliness make itself known. Frowning, I hurried to put away everything, heading to the bath once I was finished with everything else.

I let the water run over my body as I thought about my day. Despite the near-drowning experience and the run in with Nayomi, I had had a good day. I realized that every day I had spent with Takeru, it had never ended that badly. Even during those first few times I met him and was still wary to trust him, the days had felt more bearable, and gave me something to look forward to in the future.

The Sea God had given me a reason to be. My breath caught as I realized this, a hand going up and lightly touching the pearl upon my throat. Ever since he'd given it to me, I'd never taken it off except to clean it, always with extreme care to not ruin the cloth or the pearl itself. It comforted me, knowing that no matter what happened, I had a way to call him, see him.

A way to no longer be alone in this world.

Smiling, I finished my bath and dressed for bed, a nice t-shirt and pair of soft shorts to relax in as I wound down. I sat in front of the tv and turned it on, my thoughts now straying to Nayomi.

I frowned, not happy that she knew of my and Takeru's relationship. Knowing her and her ways, she would more than likely try to gather enough information to ruin what we had. Though...normally when I stood up to her, she would respond with her own form of aggression, but this time...it almost seemed like she had been scared of me. No, that wasn't right. It was like she was seeing another person, one whom she feared for some reason.

I shook my head to clear my thoughts, sighing and focusing on the screen in front of me. Whatever it was that was bothering her, I didn't care as long as it didn't bother me.

* * *

Fate just _loved_ to fuck with me.

Ever since my run in with Nayomi four days ago, I had found that she was following me wherever I went. i'd only realized it two days ago, when I caught her ducking behind a corner just like I'd seen someone do out of the corner of my eye while on errands. And knowing she was watching me so closely was just ever so slightly, not much, but just maybe _pissing me off._

I gave an aggravate sigh and turned around, glaring daggers at the alley corner where I _knew_ she was hiding. Torture at school was one thing, but stalking? This was crossing the line. I marched my way over to the alley entrance, turning the corner and startling the dark haired girl lurking there.

"I've had it up to here with your bullshit, Nayomi," I hissed in her face, furious at her attempts to learn about my life, more than she already had known. "Why the hell are you following me?!"

To my surprise, she shrank back against the wall, a flash of fear in her expression. My rage lessened at that sight, replaced by a queer sense of hesitation. Nayomi had never hesitated before, so why should I when I catch her in the act?

"H-hold on, Yukino-chan!" she stammered, grinning nervously and holding her hands up. "I can explain!"

"Then you better start explaining before your hair suddenly becomes a _lot_ shorter," I growled, only to feel a flash of guilt when she flinched. _What the hell?_

"Well...um, well..." she looked down and away, playing up the suspense for some reason. I leaned back and tapped my foot on the ground, impatiently waiting. "I was hoping you'd maybe have some time to have lunch with me?" she offered, posing it more of a question than a demand.

"...No." I turned and started walking out of there.

"No, I'm serious!" she pleaded. A strange note in her voice made me pause against my better judgement, looking back at her with distrust. "I know that you don't trust me, and I've given more than enough reasons to make it like that, but I'm begging you!"

I gritted my teeth, staring into her eyes to try and see any hint of deceit. The only thing I saw was desperation, a little remaining fear, and...something else. I couldn't place what it was, but it wasn't along any lines of a lie. Knowing that I'd regret this, I gave a sharp nod.

"You better not blow this, Nayomi, or you'll never get another chance." _Like I'd give her any more chances either way._

A bright smile appeared on her face, lighting it up. I blinked, a little surprised to realize that lately all I'd ever seen was a sneer or a conniving smirk, not a smile like this. It made her cute, truly cute, and I sighed in irritation before turning and walking out of the alley and onto the sidewalk, the black-haired teen following me closely.

"Hey, lets go to this cafe over here," she said, pointing in a direction. My eyes almost bugged out at the sight of one of the more expensive places on the block and I immediately shook my head.

"Oh no, I don't have money like that! Just follow me," I said, turning and heading for a cheaper, but a very nice and quaint cafe down the road. Nayomi eyed the outside of it cautiously, clearly used to the finery of the well off. I walked in without hesitation, smiling warmly at the girl behind the counter.

"What can I get you, Manabe-san?" she asked in a pleasant tone, knowing that I was a regular there when I could afford it.

"The usual, and whatever she wants." I nodded back at Nayomi.

The other girl looked at the menu, clearly unsure of what was good here. Shaking my head at this, I turned back. "Actually, just get her the same thing as me."

"Of course. Go ahead and have a seat, I'll bring it over to you."

"Thanks."

Nayomi stuck close to me as I walked to the back of the quaint cafe, scooting a chair out in an attempt at manners. "Sit here." I lowered my backside into my own chair, perfectly at ease in the comfortable atmosphere the place offered. I crossed my arms and sat back against the chair, looking at her fidget.

"So, what was so important that you had to follow me for four days straight?" I asked, not bothering to beat around the bush.

Nayomi looked down at her hands, biting her lower lip. "I...I wanted to see...if there was any way...if you would possibly want to be..."

"If I would return to being friends with you?"

She nodded, glancing up at me through her eyelashes in trepidation. I could understand her hesitance, after so many years of enduring her torture. And she was right in assuming that I was not going to be the most accepting of her advances.

"If you thought for one _second_ that I would-"

"I know!" she snapped, those dark eyes flashing in anger. "Why do you think I was trying to stay hidden? Of course you're not going to just welcome me back with open arms. I'm not stupid!"

For a brief second my hackles raised at the reappearance of the old Nayomi, but all of a sudden that flash of the past was gone, and she cringed and whimpered, covering her head to protect it. The behavior struck me as beyond odd, and raised more than a few questions.

"Here you are, Manabe-san," the counter girl said, placing the two chai lattes on the table with a smile.

"Thank you," I said, nodding at her politely. She turned to leave, and my attention went back to the girl who was now peering out from under her hair, nervous as a cornered mouse. "Here, try this. It's a chai latte with whipped cream and cinnamon."

Nayomi eyed the cup in front of her skeptically. I sipped lightly on my own, sighing in bliss as the caffeine hit my system almost at once. She picked it up and tilted it to look inside. I frowned as she proceeded to nitpick the outside wrappings.

"Just drink the damn thing," I snapped, loosing my patience.

She jumped slightly at my tone, frowning before taking a deep breathe and sipping from the cup cautiously. I nearly smirked when her eyes widened in delight at the taste. "Wow. That's pretty good!"

"Yeah. I don't like much else, but this tastes good as well as gives you a caffeine boost," I commented, taking a healthy gulp from my own despite the liquid's temperature.

"...So..." Nayomi glanced at me, taking in my semi-relaxed state. "How are things with that boy?"

"Totsuka Takeru. And it's going fine." I kept the fact that I missed him horribly the past few days to myself. My mind kept straying to what he might be doing at that moment, how he was faring while 'grounded,' and mostly, if he missed me as much as I missed him. My heart clenched, and a frown came over my face.

Nayomi noticed and tilted her head some. "That doesn't look like it's going fine. Where has he been?"

"Away. He has family that comes first," I allowed, eyeing her as I talked. I sensed no malice, no ill intent, but I could never bee to careful.

"Oh. I know how that feels. Kouta-kun is away for a few days, and I really honestly miss him a lot." A flicker of a grimace crossed her expression, and I raised an eyebrow.

"It seems that things aren't going the best between you," I commented, sipping the latte. "He once mentioned that you'd had some kind of trouble recently. Care to explain?"

Any calm she had retained from before fell away when I mentioned that, and Nayomi looked at me in stark terror, her eyes going wide and wild. I backed away an inch or two in my seat, narrowing my eyes at her in caution at once. Without warning she shot up from the chair, clutching her cup tightly as she jerked her head around, as if suddenly sensing danger.

"I-I have to go!" she stammered right before she bolted out the door. I made a slight lunge to stop her, but she was long gone before I was even out of my seat. I was left staring after her, mouth slightly open in shock.

What the heck was going on?

* * *

**I may or may not be posting every day for a while, as I have dedicated some of my day to grinding my Blood Elf hunter to the highest level in WOW. Be assured, I'm still going to write, but with having to go through so many instances and dungeons, I'm plumb tuckered out.**

**Tell me what you think of the story so far, reviews are much loved.**


	15. The News

_You're the only one I'll be loving_

_Even if it costs me my life, I'll engrave this oath_

_Tada omae dake aishinuku_

_Chikai kizande inochi hatete mo_

* * *

I stood in front of the Light Pool two days later, biting my lower lip in worry. It had almost been a week since I'd last seen Takeru, and there hadn't been a single response from the pearl when I'd try to call him yesterday. I'd waited for several hours for a response, but none ever came.

I had, during that time, at least been able to use what chalk I'd had left to draw another scene on the memory wall. The first kiss we'd shared was now etched there for me to see, as well as the pictures of the first sunset and the time with the jellyfish. It was a very happy collection, one I would have loved to expand.

That is, if a certain Sea God would come to see me again.

Caressing the pearl lightly, I closed my eyes and sent a silent prayer to the heavens as I whispered desperately to the pearl, hoping maybe this time, this time he would hear me.

"Takeru...Takeru...please, Takeru!"

I tried to stop my voice from wavering, but it broke as I pleaded him to come. My heart squeezed in pain as the pearl remained cool to the skin, and I clenched my teeth in despair.

Had I done something wrong? I wondered, going and flopping onto the blanket that was still in the cave and pulling my legs to my chest. I fought back a tear or two as I stared at the rippling pool, noticing it wasn't as happy sounding as it used to be. I thought back to the last few times we'd been together, not finding anything that would have made him offended. No, he'd been so sweet, nothing had been wrong.

But...I recalled those dark looks the day we'd first kissed. A small fear made itself known then, and I felt my entire body tense in horror.

Did he regret becoming so close to me? Regret returning my affections? If so, why had he led me on like that?

My mind swam and my stomach churned, making me feel sick. I buried my face into my legs and took a deep breath to steady my emotions, feeling that little instinct in the back of my mind yelling something at me, warning me that something was wrong, but I just couldn't figure out what it was.

I felt a sudden warmth at the hollow of my throat, and my hand flew up to touch the pearl. It was warm, I realized with joy. He'd finally heard me! A shudder of relief ran up my back at the knowledge that he'd come to me soon. I leaned back against the wall and watched the pool, eager to see my sea god once again.

* * *

This was going to kill him, Takeru swore to himself as he heard Yukino's desperate call in his mind. Takeru grimaced visibly, causing the goddess at his side to glance over at him as they sat at the table of her father's house.

He had spent quite a lot of time with Kushinada-hime the past week, at the order of the Emperor. He didn't see much point in it being an order, though he figured that it was an attempt to get him used to his future wife as well as gauge how he would be after their union. So far, it wasn't the most promising.

Oh, he was polite when he had to be, but the Storm God had made it perfectly clear that he was not happy. Between ignoring Kushinada when she tried to flirt or even converse with him to telling her flat out that he would not give her any affection, every one of the gods in their realm knew that Susano'o was on edge, ready to snap if provoked.

The only one who showed any sympathy was Tsukito, who came by most every day to talk with his brother for at least an hour or two, giving the younger god a chance to vent his frustration and rage. Takeru was beyond pissed, but since there was nothing he could do about it, he needed any chance he could get to express himself.

"Is there something wrong, Susano'o-san?" the female beside him asked, her father also looking at him.

Takeru shook his head, taking a sip of the green tea offered. That was another thing that bothered him. She insited on calling him by Susano'o, not that he would have been any happier by calling him the name that Kusanagi Yui had given him. No, that privilege was for his friends, brother, and the two human girls he had come to know.

"No, there's nothing wrong."

The dark-haired goddess nodded before continuing what she had been saying. "I think we should have the ceremony at the top of the mountain, when the sun is going down. It would be a wonderful atmosphere to have, the cool evening breeze coupled with the colors of the sunset. What do you think, Father?"

"It sounds like a wonderful idea, hime," was the response. Her father was one of the heavier-set gods around, proof of his high status. Takeru personally couldn't stand the man, especially when around his daughter. He was the kind to spoil his child with anything she wanted, and as a higher rank, he could afford it.

A slice of pain suddenly went through the sea god's chest. Not expecting such a thing, his hand flew up and clutched at it, gritting his teeth and hissing in pain. The two other deities immediately looked concerned, Kushinada placing a hand on his arm.

"What's wrong, Susano'o-san? Are you in pain?"

He barely held back a sharp retort, choosing to instead give her a pointed glare. He didn't feel bad as she flinched back, she shouldn't have asked such a stupid question.

"I need to go somewhere," he growled out, standing up quickly and turning to go.

"To your human?" Kushinada's father guessed, sipping on his own tea leisurely now that he knew the young god was fine. his daughter frowned before looking up at Takeru pleadingly.

"Why must you go to her? She's just a ephemeral being, doomed to die. I heard she doesn't even pray properly," she commented. Takeru clenched his teeth, finding it harder and harder to control himself.

"I've ignored her long enough. I still have a week allotted by the Emperor, and I will use that week." His hard golden eyes glared down at the goddess even as he focused some of his power to send a response at last, feeling the joy that suddenly bloomed in Yukino's heart when she felt his reply. "Until then, Kushinada-hime, I bid you farewell."

A hand shot out and grabbed his arm before he could leave, and he turned and practically snarled at the delicate being who had so foolishly touched him. This time, however, she didn't flinch away, only stared at him in stony resolution.

"You should stop bringing her so much pain that you youself can feel it, Susano'o-san," Kushinada said shortly. "If I were in her shoes, I wouldn't want to be left wondering if it had been something I'd done, or if something was wrong. Just be kind and break your bond cleanly."

Takeru snatched his arm away before turning and storming out of the house, fuming as he marched to his own across the valley. He didn't want to listen to the advice of another, especially the one who had decided to set this whole affair in motion.

But a part of him knew that his future bride had a point. He paused at the portal, staring into its deep depths with a great pain in his heart. He didn't want to cause Yukino any more pain than his absence had already delt, and after another week he would never be able to see her again.

The god was caught between a rock and a hard place, and if he were to be honest with himself, he would have rather chosen a blade to the gut over what he would have to do next.

* * *

The water within the pool finally stilled, and I sat up as the waters surged upwards and revealed Takeru in all his godly glory. I jumped up at once as he stepped forward onto the rock, lunging at him as fast as I could. "Takeru-kun!" I cried happily as he caught me in his arms, holding me close and spinning me around to balance us out before we could topple into the pool behind him.

I held onto him as tightly as I could, breathing in his scent as deeply as I could. The smell of sea bringe and a coming storm, that's what he smelled of, and I loved it whenever I caught a whiff. Laughing, I looked up at him and smiled.

"I was wondering if you'd come back at all," I admitted, too happy to care.

Takeru chuckled and placed a hand on my cheek, causing me to blush.

"Like I could forget about you," he murmured softly before leaning in and kissing me firmly upon my lips. I sighed happily and leaned into the it as he wrapped his arms around me tightly, making me feel relaxed at last. We parted after a few seconds, both of us sporting light blush on our faces.

"Where have you been the past week?" I asked, reluctant to move out of his embrace just yet.

Those wonderful golden eyes of his flickered, and the little voice in my head urged me to be cautious. Takeru dropped his arms from around me and took a step back, sighing.

"I've been busy. They saw fit to give me a rather heavy punishment for something so simple."

"Isn't that always how it is?" I scoffed, shaking my head and moving back to the blanket. The god followed me and we sat with our backs against the wall comfortably, staring at the dancing light that filled the pretty cave around us.

"How's Tsukito?"

"He's fine. Been busy like I have, but we're both doing okay." He looked over at me. I fidgeted a little, wondering why the atmosphere was almost tense around us. I didn't like it like this.

"Nayomi started to stalk me a few days ago," I told him, crossing my arms and huffing.

"Stalking?" he echoed, a thread of anger in his tone. I smirked before turning to look at him.

"Yeah. She says she was wondering if we could try to be friends again, but I told her flat out that it wasn't going to happen anytime soon. She did like the chai latte I gave her the first meeting, though."

"Meeting?" His eyes narrowed slightly at my nod.

"Yeah. She's managed to get me to meet up with her twice, once two days ago and the other yesterday. It's why I'm able to be here now without her knowing, I managed to convince her to leave me alone for a day or so."

"Why in the world are you even giving her the time of day?" the god demanded, clearly not happy with my decision to humor Nayomi.

"...There's something off about her recently," I admitted, frowning and looking forward. "Like, whenever I truly get mad and into her face, she seems scared. Usually she gives me her own attitude, but not lately. And whenever I mention Fujiwara Kouta-" I pointedly ignored his silent snarl at the name. "-she freaks out and runs away, like she's being hunted."

"Whatever is going on with her and that guy doesn't concern you. Keep her out of your life, jellyfish, or you'll regret it."

"I know that much, sea monkey!" I hissed, poking my tongue out at him. "She's the one who messed me up in the first place. It's just..." I trailed off, trying to find the words to use. "It's like whatever is wrong with her _is_ my problem, like if something is going on that it'll effect me as well."

Takeru shook his head at my foolishness, and even though I knew he was right, that little voice in my head refused to believe that nothing would happen. However, I decided to let it go and turned to him.

"What do you want to do today, Takeru? It's a nice day for shell hunting if you'd like to go."

A smile appeared on that handsome face of his finally, and I felt proud of myself for finally drawing one out of him. We both stood up and made our way through the cave, barely noticing the places that used to be so tight you had to wiggle through them to get by. As we stepped out into the warm sunlight I felt a sudden chill of premonition run down my back, setting my nerves on edge at once.

I turned and saw that Takeru had turned into his human form with the school-like uniform, hands stuffed into his pockets. I must have looked confused, because he raised an eyebrow at me questioningly, those amber eyes watching me. "Something wrong, jellyfish?"

"No, just thought I felt something," I said, shrugging it off. Trying to ignore the sense of dread I looked around, not seeing anybody near enough to make me worry about being seen with him. I walked with him down to where the waves met the sand, determined to enjoy this precious time I'd been granted with him.

* * *

As time went on, I forgot about the bad feeling I'd gotten in my gut and just had some fun with Takeru, and he seemed to do the same. We left our troubles on the sand as we walked side by side together, our hands clasping the others tightly as we chatted away while going to the pile of rocks we watched the sunset on.

We settled down on the hard rocks as comfortably as we could, with my back pressed against his chest and his arms wrapped around me tightly, keeping me close as he set his chin on my shoulder. I sighed in contentment as the sun bathed us in its colored light while it started to sink beneath the waves.

"I'm glad you were able to come back today," I said, laying my head back against him.

"Yeah, me too." His arms tightened around me, and I thought I heard a note of regret in his tone. I turned my head slightly to face him then.

"Is there something going on that's making you uncomfortable?" I asked, trying to force the silly fear down so that I could ask him properly. "Something that I did?"

His amber eyes turned to me in surprise, blinking some. "No, you've done nothing wrong. Why would you think that, pearl?"

I relaxed marginally at the reassurance and the nickname, and shrugged a little. "You've seemed very off lately, and I thought maybe I'd done something to upset you."

"No, you didn't do anything," he chuckled, pecking me on my cheek. "I've just had to deal with a lot back in my world."

"Ah, all the god stuff catching up to you?"

"You could say that." There was that funny note in his voice again, sounding a lot like regret. Perhaps he felt bad about skipping those couple of days and being punished for it? I hoped that was the case.

"Don't worry. Whatever it is, I'll be here for you whenever you need me," I promised, turning my head and kissing his neck lightly in a flash of boldness. I felt him shiver ever so slightly and did a mental victory dance at being able to get him to do so.

We both turned back to the sunset before us, watching as the deep purples, the bright reds and oranges bled out into the blue, turning the day slowly into night. I lifted my head to feel the breeze from the sea, and felt Takeru shift some behind me so that his lips were closer to my ear. I froze as he spoke in a hushed tone, his voice deeper than I'd ever heard it before.

"My heart belongs to the ocean, to the deep blue sea,

for all the lost souls who were once alive and free.

They have bestowed upon me this privilege to be among thee,

And to rest with them down...all the way down until I can no longer breathe.

My heart belongs to the ocean, to the cold harsh blue.

May they always remember that day...the day that I chose you."

Tears fell from my eyes when I heard those words, touched to the deepest part of my heart by the beauty of what he had said. I turned my head to look into those pretty amber eyes of his, knowing my gaze was full of all the love I held for this wonderful man who held me in his arms.

"I didn't know you were a poet," I murmured softly as he leaned in and lightly kissed me on my lips.

"I'm Susano'o, the god who invented poetry," he admitted, sounding rather embarrassed about it. I giggled and pulled him down for another kiss, too happy to form words.

"Yukino-chan?!"

A sharp and shrill voice made us break apart, and I turned my head to see Nayomi standing a little farther down the beach, eyes wide and staring at us. Flustered at being caught, we both moved apart a few inches. My face lit up on fire as I shot a murderous glare in the girl's direction.

"You swore you wouldn't follow me today, Nayomi!" I shouted, absolutely livid that she broke her promise. Should I have been as surprised as I was? Probably not.

"I wasn't, I swear!" she insisted, backing up and holding her hands in the air in front of herself. I frowned, taking in the fact that she was acting very skittish, which was a highly odd thing to see. Takeru growled behind me though, and the thought left me as I noticed a familiar male come up behind Nayomi and put an arm around her.

"What are you two doing up there?" Kouta asked, his brown eyes looking up at us upon the rocks.

"Oi, get the hell out of here!" Takeru snarled fiercely, his eyes flashing dangerously to gold for a heart-stopping moment.

_This _would_ happen now of all times,_ I thought to myself, standing up and looking back at the furious sea god.

"C'mon. They're not worth the time," I said, holding my hand out to him. He shot me an angry glare at my willingness to leave, but I just looked at him steadily, hoping he'd just come with me.

After a few tense seconds he sighed and accepted the hand I offered. We hopped down from the rocks on the side away from the intruders and I sighed in aggravation. "I really hate them right now."

"I've never liked them," he snorted, shoving his hands in his pockets as the other two came around the rocks, Nayomi looking like a deer caught in the headlights when Takeru and I glared in tandem. Kouta seemed unfazed, however, and actually came closer to us, much to our disapproval.

"Did you guys come to watch the sunset?" the teenage male asked, smiling at us.

I turned my head to the side, still holding onto Takeru's hand tightly. "It doesn't matter to you. Leave us alone, Fujiwara-san."

"Aw, don't be like that," he laughed slightly, completely missing the fact that Takeru was getting more and more rigid in fury. "After all, I just got back into town, and wanted to see how you were doing."

"What we're doing is none of your concern, bastard!" The blunette beside me finally snapped, the air around us dropping several degrees as the tension spiked. "I warned you before to stay the hell away from us!"

"Yukino-chan is one of my friends, I just can't ignore her like she's not even there," Kouta said casually, and my eyes widened in shock right before they flashed to a very guilty-looking Nayomi as she cowered from the mad god. _She told him that Takeru was ignoring me?!_

With a shout of anger, Takeru rushed forward, grabbing the taller teen by the collar and lifting him up in a very impressive display of strength. As impressed as I was at the feat, however, it did nothing to sway the sudden shill of fear that ran down my spine at seeing the god of the sea so furious. I stared in horror as Takeru watched in cold satisfaction as Kouta struggled in his grip, trying to get free.

"You're weak," he spat out, adjusting his grip to keep the boy in place. "It's no wonder Nayomi is scared. It's because you're much to weak to protect her. A weak man deserves no woman at all."

"B-better than a man who leaves his woman behind with no reason," Kouta stammered out, and I scowled in fury.

"Just because _you_ don't know the reason doesn't mean there isn't one, Fujiwara!" I hissed at him, not feeling as bad as I'd had two seconds ago about him choking in Takeru's grip.

His words still had an effect on the god, however, and he loosened his grip ever so slightly. Feeling his chance, Kouta lashed a foot out and hit Takeru in the arm, making him shout out in pain and drop the boy.

"Takeru!" Astonished, I raced over to him as he rubbed his arm, glaring down at the panting teen on the sane.

"K-kouta-kun!" Nayomi rushed over as well, leaning over him and putting her hands on him delicately, trying to help him up. With her help he sat up and glared at us, clearly not happy.

I looked at the conflicted expression on my god's face, like what Kouta had said really reached him. My heart clenched tightly and I turned my gaze to the boy sitting in the sand, feeling a cold fury well up inside of me. I stepped in front of Takeru, hearing him make a surprised noise as I looked at Kouta murderously.

"I'm not your friend, Fujiwara Kouta. Yes, I used to have a crush on you, before that one," I stabbed a finger at Nayomi, who flinched back, "decided that it was a good idea to take you for herself. But you know what?" I smirked, feeling a strange sense of pride and superiority to the two humans in front of me. "I'm glad she did."

"Wh-what?" The dark haired girl blinked up at me, shifting so she could cower behind her stunned boyfriend.

"Yeah. I'm glad you took him. Because if you hadn't, I'd have never met Takeru. I'd never have met this strong, stubborn, amazing man I'm with now." I turned my head and gave him a little smile, mentally giggling at the astonished look on his face before turning back to the other two. "But I can't thank you for that. What I can tell you is this."

I bent down then, looking Kouta right into his dull brown eyes that were partially hidden by his bangs. After staring so long into the gold or amber of my god's eyes, all others dimmed in comparison, I'd found out. I sneered into Kouta's face, letting him feel just how much I was rejecting him.

"I'm not your friend, I never will _be_ your friend, so just leave me and my boyfriend _alone!_" I shouted into his face, making him flinch back at the force I used behind the words. I pulled back and gave a disgusted sneer down at him before turning and walking back to Takeru's side.

"Let's go, Takeru, I'm tired of this shit," I said, reaching out and grabbing his hand in mine gently.

Wordlessly he nodded, and allowed me to pull him away from the couple in the sand, heading for the cave down the beach as quickly as I could march with how stiff my legs were. I felt a weird sense of pride in myself though, and I let a satisfied smile form on my lips at the thought of them not bothering me ever again.

"Slow down, jellyfish," Takeru complained behind me, letting go of my hand. I turned back and grinned at him, pleased to see that we hadn't been followed.

"Sorry, I just wanted to get away from their bullshit," I admitted, giggling as he smirked.

"Just wondering, who possessed you back there? I've never seen you like that before."

"Call it being tired of things not going our way." The breeze kicked up around us, making my hair fly into my face. I sputtered and tried to get it out of my mouth, making a face.

Takeru's hand came up and helped move it out of the way before he ran his fingers over my cheek. I blushed at the amused look he was giving me, glancing away.

"So I'm your boyfriend?" he asked casually, but I could hear the amusement in his tone.

"Well yeah!" I blurted without thinking, only to cover my mouth in embarrassment. He merely shook his head, his expression suddenly tinged with sadness as his smile faded.

"As much as I wish I could accept that..." he muttered before sighing heavily. His hand dropped away from my face and he took a step back.

My heart stopped beating, and I froze with my wide ocean blue eyes staring at him in shock. That instinct was back again, urging me to run, just to run and get away before...

"There's something I need to tell you, Yukino," Takeru said, looking at the sand below our feet just as the sun finally dipped below the sea. "It's the reason I haven't been able to come the past week, and why I've honestly tried to avoid seeing you to have to tell you this."

_Oh no...oh gods no..._ My mind pleaded, rejecting what he was getting at. I felt my face pale in horror, my expression mirroring my emotions perfectly.

Takeru looked pained as well, like he was having a hard time forming the words he was about to say. "You see...the Emperor, he...he..."

"Susano'o-san?"

A delicate voice, as gentle as a night breeze and twice as cool, came from behind me. I stiffened and whirled around, eyes impossibly wide at the figure behind me.

A tall, elegant woman stood there dressed in an expensive silk kimono, her pale skin glowing against her painted red lips and her dark hair, pulled back by a pair of golden chopsticks. She was achingly beautiful, and gave off a calm aura as well. She took a step towards me, that one movement full of more grace than I could have in a lifetime.

"Wh-who are you?!" I choked out, only to hear a fierce curse come from the god behind me.

A slight smile appeared on the woman's face, edging on cruel delight as she looked me up and down, taking in my slightly tangled hair, shorts and classic tank under loose shirt style I normally wore. I felt significantly inferior to this lady, but I held my head high as I stared into her light gold eyes.

"I'm Kushinada-hime, human." Her hand appeared from the sleeve of her kimono, and she opened the fan that had appeared with it, using it to hide her mouth from my sight. "You may address me as mi'lady, though."

I bristled at her superior-than-though tone, glaring furiously at her. "I don't think I will," I hissed, taking a step forward.

A strong hand encircled my wrist, pulling me to a stop. I looked back in shock at a very guilty looking Takeru, his face full of shame. "Yukino, hold on."

"Who is she?" I asked, my voice starting to give. The instinct was still screaming, telling me to save myself, save me the pain that was to come...

Takeru opened his mouth hesitantly, reluctant and highly uncomfortable. But before he could speak, the noble lady behind us made herself heard.

"Oh, you didn't tell her yet? I thought you would have, Susano'o-san."

I whirled around and glared at the offending woman, at this point not even caring if she was a goddess or a human. "Told me _what?!_"

"That he was to be wed to me," she said simply, a vicious glint of delight in her pretty golden eyes.

* * *

**Don't kill me! * hides behind beta reader ***

**So the rest of Hades' route has been translated, so now I can finish playing it. I wonder whose route will be translated next. Yes, I'm playing the game, but as my Japanese is nearly non-existant, a nice person on Tumblr is working on the translations currently. Much love for her!**


	16. The Break Up

**I know that usually I'd have lyrics up here, but as the song ended last chapter...well, you get me up here from now on. :D I hope you all are enjoying my story so far, and stick with me to the end...and beyond~**

* * *

Pain. That's all I could feel as those words struck me worse than a physical blow. My eyes watched the goddess in front of me as she smirked behind that stupid fan of hers, clearly pleased with herself for causing my body to lock up, unable to even flinch back when Takeru's hand tightened on my wrist.

"Kushinada!" he shouted, his voice a mix between anger and shame. "How did you get here?!"

"I came through your portal, of course. It's the only one for miles, after all." She stood their casually, playing off the fact that she had quite literally broken me with a few simple words.

Takeru's teeth ground audibly behind me. "Go back," he ordered her, his voice low and threatening.

"Fine, I just wanted to see what had kept you so long. We do have to set up plans before summer's end." With that final jab, she turned and gracefully walked over the sand, disappearing into the cave.

I remained where I was, staring after her. To be wed? He was engaged to another? My mind refused to accept these facts, and I turned my head, expression horrified.

The sea god refused to meet my gaze, instead grimacing as he looked out to the sea. "Damn that woman!" he shouted, letting go of my wrist so he could clench his fists without hurting me. I mearly stared at him, waiting for him to explain things as I'd lost my voice.

He ran a hand through his hair in frustration before sighing and turning back to me, those amber eyes I loved so much anguished. "I'm so sorry, pearl, but it's true...she and I are engaged, and will be married by summer's end."

"Why...?" My voice was barely a whisper, but Takeru heard it anyway and cringed.

"She requested the arrangement, and the Emerpor agreed to it. There's nothing I can do."

"Nothing you can do?" I echoed, my shock slowly fading away, being replaced by a burning anger. "Nothing you can do?! You're a _god!_ There has to be _something_ you can do!"

"I've already tried!" he shouted. "That's the first thing I did was try to disolve this blasted engagement. But even I dare not go against the Emperor!"

"Why won't you?!" I demanded, my fists clenched and shaking in rage. "I don't care if he's the all powerful being, no one should have the power to make you do what you don't want to do! And why?" I added on, barely stopping for a breath. "Why didn't you tell me taht any of this was going on?!"

"Because I knew you'd act like this!" The god glared at me, his own anger flickering to life. "Do you think I wanted us to just stop being together? I tried to stop it!"

"You didn't try hard enough!" A part of me told me to stop, to shut up before either of us said something that we couldn't take back, but I just couldn't bring myself to care. I was too angry, too hurt that because of his lack of a will to fight, I would loose him to another woman.

"I did everything in my power!" he countered, those eyes flashing from amber to gold in an instant.

"Then you should have gone _beyond_ your power! I'm not going to let yourself just give up and be taken away from me!" I sobbed, desperatly trying to convince him.

"I'm not the all powerful being you think I am, Yukino," he hissed, clearly holding himself back. "I'm a lower caste god, shunned by most for my rashness and lack of ettiquite. Who was I supposed to go to?"

"Well if you had saved that goddess from falling off the cliff, maybe you'd have someone!"

My eyes widened in horror as soon as the words left my lips, and I slammed my hands over my mouth as I saw him go stock still, his golden eyes blazing in fury...and pain. I had crossed the line.

A bright flash of light, and he was suddenly in his god form, his transformation proof of just how angered he'd become. I took a step back, feeling fear for the first time in his presence as that rage was directed at me.

"T-takeru, I'm s-"

"Shut up."

His tight voice cut me off, and I shrank into myself in shame as he stalked forward. I thought he would stop in front of me to keep arguing, but instead, he passed me without even a glance. A horrified chill ran down my spine at the cold dismissal he'd just given me, and I whirled around to grab his wrist, trying to stop him.

I regretted the decision as her turned and gave me the coldest look I'd seen in my life. My grip instantly released, and I stared up at him in abject terror.

"I'm going back to my world. You're not to follow me, or call to me ever again. I won't respond if you do, either, so you might as well not even try." His voice was colder than winter ice, pushing me away like a frosty blast. "Goodbye, human."

With that, he walked away, not looking back as I fell to my knees in the sand, tears finally sliding down my cheeks as the Rampaging God disappeared into the cave and out of my life.

* * *

"How dare he!"

I slammed the door of my apartment, stamping inside and flicking the light on viciously. I didn't even bother to take my shoes off, instead choosing to go to my room, grab a pillow and flop onto the futon. I buried my face into it, trying to stop the sobs racking my body.

_Why?_ I found myself thinking, feeling the tears spill over into the fabric of the pillow. I lifted my head and stared at the wall in a mix of anger, pain and guilt. _Why did he hide that from me?_

On the way home after our fight, my sadness had become mixed with rage, not just directed at him, but at myself. How could I have been stupid enough to use his past against him? The death of the goddess that had taken care of Takeru when he was young was a very painful point for him still, and I'd just slammed a spike directly into it.

_How dare he? More like how dare I..._

My hand drifted up to where the pearl still rested on my throat, feeling the sharp chill coming from it. More tears threatened to come, and I gripped my pillow more tightly to try and stop them.

I had lost him, the one man I had truely come to love, cherish, and most importantly, trust. I had lost all of it, and the despair that threatened to drag me down to the pits of hell made me swear to myself a very serious promise that I was sure to never break.

"I'll never trust anyone again..."

* * *

"Damn it!"

Takeru punched the tree in front of him, breathing heavily as he tried to vent out all the rage, frustration and pain he was feeling after coming back through the pool. His eyes clenched shut, trying to banish the look of pain and fear on Yukino's face from his mind's eyes, but it just kept returning, kept making his heart ache...

"God damn it!"

Another punch, another dent in the tree. He felt the skin on his knuckles split, but he couldn't bring himself to care at all. The pain he had caused her today far exceeded his own, and he knew it. The sea god leaned his forehead against the bark of the tree, teeth clenching as he tried to hold his emotions in.

That one remark she had made had hurt him deeply, so deeply that for a few seconds, his mind shut down in rage. A feeling of shame crept upon him as he recalled wanting to hurt her for hurting him, something he had pushed away at once, but he'd still thought it. Even if she pissed him off to no end, Takeru refused to hurt her physically.

_So that makes the emotional damage delt okay?_ his mind asked coldly.

He slammed his forehead against the biting bark on the tree, feeling a few scrapes appear. He didn't want to think, to feel. All he wanted was to get away, as far away as he could before he snapped.

"Takeru."

The sea god's head whipped around, his golden eyes meeting that of his brothers. He paused at the clear concern at his distress, but Takeru didn't want to talk yet. The pain was still there, much too fresh. He faced the tree again, hand digging into the sharp bark.

"Go away, brother. I don't want to hurt you."

"I saw Kushinada-hime come from your home. I was worried something had happened."

"Something did happen!" Takeru shouted, punching the tree. A sharp cracking sound was heard from within, and both gods knew that a few more hits like that and it would fall. "I was going to tell her, I wanted to make it easy on her, but that bitch...that damn bitch..."

His voice broke finally, and he had to turn his head to keep the tears from falling down. He was a god, he shouldn't be crying over a fight with a human...over the girl whose heart felt the same his did at that moment. He could vaguely sense her pain beneath his own, and for the first time ever he cursed the link the pearl gave them.

A light touch on his shoulder had him looking back to his brother, his face twisted in anguish. A similar expression lay on his brothers, and he felt himself break down.

"I hurt her...I swore to protect her always, but I just ended up abandoning her and hurting her..." The tears finally started to fall, and the sea god was grateful that none were around to see his pitiful state of despair.

"...Come inside, brother." Tsukito tugged the blunette towards his house, knowing that if any bothered the sea god right now or came across him, everything would just end up worse than it already was. Takeru followed his brother silently, thankful that at least he cared for him.

Tsukito had his brother sit on the futon in the guest bedroom before going to look for something. Takeru's hand clenched in his lap as he held back the liquid threatening to spill from his eyes even faster than it already was.

The Moon god returned, handing him a cup of strange smelling liquid. He glanced up to him, not even having to ask aloud.

"It'll help numb the pain for now. Lay down after you take it, it will make you sleep after a few minutes." With that, the elegant god left the room, closing the door behind himself.

Not hesitating, Takeru downed the contents of the cup, making a face at the foul taste that coated his tongue. He lay back on the pillow as his brother had instructed, staring up at the ceiling as his head slowly started to spin as the medicine took effect.

As much pain as he was in now, he couldn't bring himself to regret meeting Yukino. That sharp, dorky girl who loved the sea had claimed his heart without even trying, just as he knew she had fallen for him the same way. Takeru let his eyes slide shut as his thoughts turned fuzzy, slowly sinking into the sweet release of unconciousness.

_If only I could have protected her..._

Then, he fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

Tsukito peeked in on his slumbering brother after a few minutes, sighing in relief as the medicine had done it's job. He shut the shojo and glided to the living room, peering out the window to the moon above.

A figure shifted in the dark nearby, drawing his attention to them. His gold eyes narrowed only slightly before he bowed his head in respect. "He hurts, mi'lord."

"He will get over it," an elderly voice responded. The moon god couldn't help but shake his head in disagreement.

"This kind of pain is not so easily dismissed, I'm afraid. It's a shared one, and as long as one hurts, the other shall as well."

"Is that how deep the bond is already?" The voice was surprised, and Tsukito saw a hand reach up to stroke a long grey beard in thought. "That is troublesome...I thought I had seperated them in time."

"May I ask what you mean, mi'lord?" Tsukito bowed his head politely, though he glanced to the figure in slight suspission.

"They have a bond, one that allows them to feel what the other is thinking, doing, or feeling. When someone with a bond like that falls in love, it's usually too late to sever it without high repricussions." A shake of the head followed. "I was too late to spare them pain."

"What needs to be done now?"

A heavy silence followed that question, and the purple haired god tensed under the stare from wise golden eyes.

The Emperor leaned back and sighed heavily, his hand still stroking his long grey beard. "For now, we wait. If the bond has truely broken, he will be fine. If not...then perhaps I will have to reconsider what I will be doing with him and that human of his."


	17. The Unexpected

**Apologies for the feels in the last chapter. D: Unfortunately I'm going to have to prick them a little more before it can get better, so please bear with me.**

**A thanks to all my supporters!**

* * *

_Two days later..._

I stared at the ceiling in silence, hearing nothing but the quiet tick tic of the clock on the wall. I had no lights on, nothing running in the background. Just silence in my apartment.

I was trying to convince myself that it would be worth getting up today. That I needed to do some chores around the house, or to go out and get some cheap groceries so I could keep eating. But it was too hard, my body responded. Too hard to bring myself to move, or to even eat.

My reason to get up and go had...well, gone.

Without something to look forward to every day, I found myself struggling to do even simple things. Even going and turning no the tv seemed like too much of a hassle. I couldn't talk about what had happened with anyone, so what was there for me to do but let my thoughts swirl around in my own mind?

I rolled onto my side, hugging my pillow as I stared at the wall for a while. I knew I should just forget, just move on, but all I could hear were those last words we said to each other ringing in my ears, echoing the regret and pain in my heart.

_I'm going back to my world. You're not to follow me, or call to me ever again. I won't respond if you do, either, so you might as well not even try. Goodbye, human._

Human.

A low, pitiful creature who didn't even know when to draw the line. Didn't know that the next few words they would utter could decimate their entire world. I buried my head in my pillow, taking a deep breath to steady myself before forning my body to move out from under the warm covers.

I moved silently over to the kitchen, staring at the pile of dishes that had been there for a while now. I knew I'd have to clean them up eventually, but I just couldn't find the energy to start. I looked over at the living room, particularly the futon that served as a sofa.

A memory flashed in my mind, of that night Takeru had stayed over. We'd been so happy, making fun of those dramas. The pain in my chest tightened even farther, and I turned my head away. I needed to get out of here.

I dressed myself quickly and walked out of the door, not bothering to check if I seemed presentable to the rest of the world. As I stepped out into the midday street, the warmth of the sun enveloped my chilly skin. Shivering at the sudden temperature change, I struck out towards the mall area, wishing to loose myself in the hustle and bustle of the city.

But even here, memories haunted me. I passed the arcade and karaoke where we'd had our date, remembering how close he'd held me as he sang those words of the song to me, practically confessing he liked me in front of an audience. I remembered the close margin of how I'd won our silly little dance off that had led to him singing.

I walked by the cafe where I'd sat down with his brother, Tsukito, for the first time. The way he'd watched as we'd interacted still brought about a sense of unease, like he could read us like a book.

The shopping mall where I'd gotten my mother-of-pearl bracelet brought back pain as well, and I hurried by them, fighting to stay together at least a little.

I walked past my school, eyeing the spot where he'd waited for me, and I'd gotten my first look at his human form. He'd been so casual then, not really caring if my schoolmates had seen us together. Hell, he'd practically stated for the entire student body to hear that I was his.

I lowered my eyes to the pavement beneath my feet, not wanting to see anymore of those once happy memories. I let myself wander aimlessly around, not caring where I ended up, as long as I was away from the pain.

My body, however, seemed to love the pain, as when I next looked up, I was standing at the rail by the beach, the sea breeze strong today and kicking my frazzled hair in every direction. I frowned at the sight of my pile of rocks in the distance, the memories of just a few days ago still fresh in my heart.

I debated for a minute, wondering if I should go down there and risk the pain, or just turn and leave. I watched the waves as they swept the sand from the surface out towards the deep blue sea, feeling the tug of them unconsciously. Knowing I'd regret it, I swung myself over the rail and plodded my way down to the surf, hoping that perhaps they could soothe my aching heart.

I took my sandles off and let the water cover my feet, sighing as the coolness seeped in and numbed them slightly. _If only it reached my mind and heart,_ I thought bitterly. I turned and started walking in a now familiar direction, not even caring if it hurt me anymore.

I knew I got several cuts from sharp shells and rocks in the surf, but I kept walking, the feeling of dread growing in the pit of my stomach as I approached the cave. I didn't know why the shudder crept up my spine, but I attributed it to what had happened not forty-eight hours earlier, when we had left on such an angry note, and kept going.

I stood in front of the small entrance, peering into the darkness within. I couldn't see anything in the deep darkness, even though the sun had set just enough to angle the light almost directly into the opening. I sat down on the lip before pushing in, deciding to continue on the painful nostalgia trip.

As I walked through the cave silently, I recalled the first time I'd been in it. Not knowing what lay within, darkness falling quickly and my own curiosity urging me on...walking down the same path now, I wasn't sure if I'd been lucky, or just plain foolish.

I reached about midway when I realized that the light that usually started to appear wasn't there anymore. Frowning, I reached forward...and ran into an intensely narrow corridor, like it had been the first time I'd explored. I felt how wide the space was, and by sucking in my gut to the point of pain, I managed to wriggle through somehow. Huffing from the effort, I kept going in, wondering what was wrong.

Another narrow opening awaited me, and then I finally reached where the Light Pool was. The opening there was barely big enough for me to even hope to squeeze through, even with holding my gut in. But as stubborn as I was, I would not be denied the finale of my trip. I grit my teeth and shoved my way through...

...Only to find it easier than I'd thought. I tumbled to the other side in surprise, oofing as I landed. Rubbing my knees, I sighed and finally took a look around, only to have my breath catch in despair.

The once dancing light of the pool had dimmed, leaving the once bright cave within shadow, gloomy and uninviting. No gaily floating particles that glowed, only dark dust that made the atmosphere even worse. The shade hid the memories and pictures we'd drawn, and in the darkness I wondered if they even were there anymore.

But what made the tears well up in my eyes was the pool itself. It no longer rippled happily, and emitted next to no light. The surface moved sluggishly, like it was molten lead. When I reached a hand to touch it, the icy chill made me snatch my arm back, hissing in shock. I stared in despair at the bottomless pit of water, wondering if the loss of it's beauty was because of the loss of love between me and my god.

I clenched my fists against the ground as I stared down into the dark pit, the tears and pain finally welling up within me as I remembered the first time I saw him appear from this very place. How he'd given me that suspicious glare, arms crossed and hovering as if by magic.

_Who the hell are you?_

I curled up at the lip of that cold, silent pool and screamed, finally letting out the pain tearing me from the inside out. The tears fell freely, as it finally sank in that he was gone.

"TAKERU!"

* * *

Takeru groaned as he woke up, feeling the sharp pain in his chest that had been there the last two days. He sat up slowly and put a hand over his heart, the ache lowering to a dull throb as he rubbed the area. He glanced out the window, seeing that the sun was already high in the sky.

"Sheesh..." he grumbled, standing up and stretching his arms above his head. The potion his brother had given him made him sleep in late, and as thankful as he was for the break from the pain, he knew he would have to face his emotions eventually. He ran his fingers through his bedraggled hair as he made his way to the kitchen, not even giving the darkened portal a glance.

Ever since he'd come back the lights had dimmed in that room, and the pool of water had become ugly and grey, moving sluggishly instead of how water was supposed to move. When he'd tried to rekindle the lights, he found his power ineffective, which disturbed the sea god greatly. After many frustrating tries, he'd just given up.

It wasn't like he'd need to use it again anyway.

His chest clenched again at that thought, and Takeru tried to shake his head to clear it as he grabbed a bite to eat. He made himself eat, though the last two day he'd had next to no appetite. Those last words they'd spoken to each other had left acid in his system, and he had gladly spit it out to any god other than his brother foolish enough to come close to him.

The Storm god never said it out loud, but the way he'd acted around Kushinada the few times she'd tried to come to explain her actions had made it clear that he was close to considering killing the woman if she even considered coming anywhere in his immediate proximity. Her father had to keep an eye on her so he wouldn't loose his only daughter to a foolish mistake.

Takeru looked out the back door of his house, out to where the courtyard for the gods and goddesses was. The cherry trees here were forever in bloom, and their soft petals danced in the light breeze that came through the area. A few others were walking and talking to each other, enjoying the midday sun above them.

"Tch." How could they be so happy? The blunette turned his head away in disgust, finishing off the riceball in his hand. Here he was, feeling like his heart had been torn into pieces and stomped on, and they were out there laughing at one another, enjoying the time they spent in the other's presence.

He remembered the fun he'd had in Yukino's presence, how sweet those memories were still. The time he'd taken her to the sea floor to see the jellyfish and turtles, or when he'd sang that song to her...

When he'd promised to protect her.

He snorted in self-disgust, grimacing and turning away from the outside. That promise had been the one he'd been forced to break, he knew that, but to go back on his word like that...it ached horribly. Like a knife in his gut being twisted around mercilessly, taunting him in the failure to keep the one he'd love safe.

"Why does it hurt this much?" he muttered to himself angrily, heading back towards his bedroom.

_"TAKERU!"_

The god's head snapped around at once to the pool room, golden eyes widening as he realized it was Yukino's voice he heard. On instinct he bolted for the portal, falling to his knees before it and reaching a hand down, only to pull back with a grunt of surprise.

The water was bone cold, and even he found that he couldn't tolerate the temperature. Gritting his teeth in frustration, he waved his hand over the surface of the water, desperately trying to see what lay on the other side.

At first the water refused to respond, staying in its sludgy, slow-moving state. Takeru cursed under his breath and pushed harder, needing to see, needing to know...

The waters finally stilled, dulling from black to an inert stone grey. Breathing a short sigh of relief, he peered through the portal, and his heart clenched at the sight before him.

Yukino was there on the other side, but her eyes were screwed shut as she screamed and sobbed, hugging herself tightly as she let her own pain out. The god felt it now, from the connection the pearl that still lay on her neck, felt the sense of utter loss and helplessness she suffered. His own sense of not being able to do anything became known, and he gritted his teeth as he reached forward again, wanting to take her in his arms once more, soothe her, tell her it would be fine...

The cold of the pool was unbearable to his skin, but he kept trying to reach through. The Emperor had already told him that he was to no longer contact her, but seeing his precious pearl this distraught, he couldn't help himself.

The only thing that made him stop was the feeling of the bottom of the pool. His hand, instead of going through to the other side, was still in his world. The sense of despair that rolled over him as he realized this made him pull back. Unable to do anything but watch as she cried herself out, he cursed himself.

Takeru had sworn he would protect her, but with the threat of what the Emperor would do to both of them still loomed, ever present in his mind. To protect her, he would have to let his promise to protect her be broken.

It was a sick, twisted path he'd been forced onto, and he saw no end of it in sight.

* * *

My eyes scrunched up, and I grimaced as I felt the unusual hardness of my pillow under my cheek. I moved a hand up to fluff it, but instead felt the cool, rough texture of rock beneath my fingertips.

Startled, I sat up and looked around, blinking away the blurriness. I dimly realized that I had fallen asleep beside the Light Pool at some point while crying, and my body was aching from the rough terrain that I'd taken a nap on. I arched my back to pop it, sighing in relief as the muscles relaxed.

I rose to my feet and sighed heavily, looking around the cavern. I paused, realizing that I could see more of what was in here than before. My eyes fell to the pool, and I felt a sliver of relief when I realized that some of the light had returned to it. Maybe getting my grief out of the way had helped, I thought offhandedly. It wasn't likely, but it comforted me anyway.

I turned to leave the cave, sighing again as my hand drifted up to the pearl around my neck. It wasn't cold anymore, I discovered as I wriggled through the narrow passages. My heart irrationally started to hope, but I shut that feeling down quickly. Baseless hope would only hurt me more in the end.

I stepped out onto the beach, looking up at the starry night sky. "Sheesh, how long was I asleep?" I asked aloud, frowning at the crescent moon floating alone in the sky. Shaking my head at my stupidity, I walked back to the city, displeased that I had lost so much time.

The city was oddly deserted tonight, barely a soul on the streets or walking around. I glanced around nervously in the silence, clenching my hands tightly as I put one foot in front of the other, creeped out by the empty silence around me.

"Damn it," I cursed under my breath, putting on speed as I got closer to my apartment building. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end, and I had the vague feeling that I was being watched, followed. I took a quick glance around, not finding anything at all out of the ordinary.

I had almost made it home when I tripped over something sticking out of an alleyway. I let out a sharp shriek as I hit the pavement, oofing on impact. I gritted my teeth and sat up slightly, looking back to see what had tripped me.

I blinked at the sight of a delicate shoe on a small foot. Frowning, I followed the leg up to the face of the person who had made me fall, only to have my eyes widen as I met dark, terrified eyes.

"Nayomi?" I asked, pushing myself up to stand in front of her. I took in her rather haphazard appearance, from her tangled hair to her very rumpled shirt and skirt. But then I felt myself stiffen as she moved her right hand, bringing up a knife to hold in front of herself, trembling as she stared at me.

"C-come with me," she whispered, the cold steel glinting in the faint light of a distant lamppost.

"Whoa, wait a minute," I said, taking a step back and holding my hands up. She followed me, taking a slight step forward, and I felt a slight shiver run down my back. "What are you doing, Nayomi? Don't be rash."

"Sh-shut up and just come with me!" she insisted, her voice cracking, sounding like she hasn't had anything to drink in a long time. I glared at her in defiance, wondering what in the world had gotten into her to make her act like this.

"I'm not going with you, Nayomi," I said firmly, taking another step back She moved with me, sliding so that she was between me and the way to my apartment. Clearly, she had learned since her last attempt on me.

"You have to!" the distraught girl insisted, her eyes flicking around nervously, like she was watching out for someone. I took a second to look around as well, but I couldn't see anyone at all. We were completely alone in the dark of the night.

"I'm not going," I said again, taking in deep, steady breaths in preparation to run.

"I can't be punished again..." she murmured, a few tears falling down her face as she gripped the knife handle even tighter. "I'm sorry, Yukino, but I have to bring you to him!"

Nayomi lunged forward, but I was prepared. I sprang back to avoid the swipe she took with that damn knife, feeling the breeze hit my belly. A spark of fear came with the knowledge that she would actually cut me in order to get me to go with her, so I took the most obvious course of action.

I turned tail and ran.

She let out a frustrated cry as I fled down the street, and I heard the heavy thumping of her own feet upon the pavement as she gave chase. _Determined bitch..._

I ducked into a side street that led to a maze of roads in a local neighborhood, one I knew like the back of my hand after wandering the streets after school some days when I didn't go to the beach. As soon as a turn came up I took it, swiftly loosing the desperate Nayomi in the chaos of the silent night streets.

Not bothering to see if she knew where I was, I ran as fast as I could, ducking and weaving through the streets, avoiding the lamps that illuminated parts and would give my position away. I could hear her on the occasion, calling out for me in desperation that was strange to hear from her.

I paused just inside of an alleyway to breathe, having to put my hands on my knees to keep myself up as I panted heavily, my lungs burning from not being used to such heavy exercise. I swallowed down more oxygen as I peered out of the alley, trying to get a bean on her location so I could make my way back to the safety of my apartment.

_What is going on with her?_ I found myself thinking, turning and slowly edging my way through the dirty alley. I was used to a high and mighty, better than thou Nayomi. This Nayomi was scared, terrified of someone hurting her, 'punishing' her as she'd said earlier. Who would be in such a position to put these fears into her clearly distraught mind?

I took one step out of the alley and into the street, only to hear the relieved cry of my hunter. I jerked my head up in the direction of the cry, seeing as she started to run towards me, that blasted knife still in her grip. I marveled at her stupidity and willingness to run with such a sharp object for a mere instant before I turned right around and dashed back down the alley, cursing myself for not checking before going out of hiding.

I had almost reached the end when another figure stepped out of the shadows, causing me to ram into them with how fast I was going. I fell back onto the ground, yelping in pain when my rear hit the hard concrete. I looked up with a glare at whoever had gotten in my way of escape, only to choke in surprise.

"Fujiwara!" I gasped, scrambling up in front of the confused looking teen. "Help me! Nayomi's trying to stab me!"

"Whoa, what?" He raised an eyebrow, tilting his head and acting casual. "Are you okay, Yukino-chan? You look exhausted."

"That's cause I've been running from your crazy girlfriend!" I spat out. The sound of footsteps behind me caused me to turn around and face a wide eyed, terrified Nayomi as she stared at us. I hissed and took a fighting stance, glaring at the girl.

"Run, Fujiwara!" I ordered him, lips pulling back into a snarl of defiance.

But to my utter astonishment, Nayomi dropped the knife and fell to her knees, hugging herself and starting to sob uncontrollably. Her body shuddered violently as she gasped for air, her voice coming out high and keening in distress.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! She ran, I had to ch-chase her down!"

Confusion rooted me to the spot as I stared at her, wondering what the hell she meant. Why was she telling this to Fujiwara?

A soft sigh came from behind me, but before I got the chance to turn and look at the male, his arms came around me, pinning my arms to my side in a swift and purposeful movement. I let out a scream of shock, hearing it echo in the close walls of the alley.

Kouta quickly covered my mouth with a piece of cloth, muffling any further sound I made. I struggled in his grip as fiercely as I could in my already tired state, which was almost enough with the adrenaline in my blood. But when I inhaled, I smelled a stuffy, unpleasant smell in the cloth, and I realized too late that it had been doused in chloroform.

Kouta spoke up then, sounding highly displeased. "Nayomi, I told you to get her quickly and quietly. You made me do it myself instead, and you will be punished." His normally soft voice was stern, unforgiving, and my mind registered the shock as it started to slip away.

Nayomi shook her head violently, sobbing even harder. "I t-tried to get her to c-come, she wouldn't! It's h-her fault, don't punish m-me!"

"Oh, she'll be punished too." I slumped in the teenager's arms, unable to hold myself up or struggle anymore, the smell of the chemical invading my senses and making my head go blank. "After all, she tried to break free of my game."

He shifted me in his arms, a vicious smile filling my vision just as my eyes closed.

"And we just can't have anyone breaking the rules, now can we?"

I heard him laugh at those words, and then I fell into darkness with a last thought.

_Where's that sea monkey when you need him..._


	18. The Rescue

**Show of hands, who wasn't expecting that kind of ending last chapter? Oh the twists and turns of a story told...also an apology for not updating it on scedule. Had a tough day, and decided to take a break. Hey, even I need to stop! XD**

**A thanks to LilweenGalatrass for being my beta reader and friend through all of my derping and writing!**

**And thank you all for getting my story to over 2k views! Love you all!**  
**On with the show!**

* * *

Have you ever had a headache so massive that you just wanted to gouge out your own eyeballs? That's what I had when I finally felt myself come around, the mother of all migraines. I grimaced in pain, trying to move a hand to cover my eyes from the piercing light that shone into them.

Only...my hands were behind my back, and seemed to be tied together. I tried to tug them apart, but to no avail. Groaning in pain, I forced myself to open my eyes to see what exactly was going on.

I felt shock as I saw that I was within the cave of the Light Pool, leaning against the wall facing the entrance to the outside. There was a bright lamp set close to me, illuminating what the currently dark pool refused to. The pictures upon the walls seemed creepy in the artificial light, though, and a tremor of fear rolled through my body.

"Ah, the princess awakens."

My head turned towards that familiar voice, eyes widening when I saw Kouta standing in the corner casually. A crumpled figure lay behind him on the ground, but I couldn't make out who it was with the poor lighting. I did, however, know that they had some blood on them, not enough to mean they were dead, but it gave me the knowledge that the boy in front of me wasn't playing any kind of game.

"Wh-what's going on?" I demanded, glaring boldly at the brunette as he strode over with a cocky smirk. "Why are we here?"

"Well, I thought it'd be nice to put you in a familiar place. After all the work it took to find it, I think it warrants a small treat." He walked closer to me, and my eyes narrowed in intense hate at his words.

"Get the hell away from me!" I hissed at him, moving a few inches back by using my legs. Kouta looked amused at my attempts, reaching down and grabbing me by my shirt collar to lift me to my feet, which were also bound so I wouldn't be able to run.

I was barely standing when a fist came out of nowhere, hitting my gut hard and causing me to cry out as I collapsed back onto the rock below. I coughed, grimacing in pain as I turned my head to glare up at my classmate.

"Y-you...!"

He knelt down, that confident smirk still on his face as he grabbed my chin and tilted my face up to see it. "See, I'd hoped you wouldn't be stupid enough to try and extract yourself from my little game, but then you went and found someone outside my sphere of influence."

I looked up at him, wondering what the hell he was talking about. The question must have shown in my expression because he let my chin go, only to draw his hand back and slap me across the face.

"I've been playing with you and everyone else, Yukino. It was unexpected, the way Nayomi came to me and asked to be my girlfriend before you got a chance, but it turned out quite nice in the end. The anguish and betrayal in your face when you found out was quite nice to see whenever I came around. Even after you tried to be cold, I could still tell you were uncomfortable."

I lay there with my face stinging as he talked, clenching my jaw in an effort to not say something stupid to piss him off and just try to figure out what I needed to do to get out of this mess.

"And then you had to meet that short bastard," Kouta snorted, his face twisting into one of intense dislike. He grabbed me and hauled my body up again, this time actually letting me stand on my own.

I was able to glance around, and I couldn't help but stiffen when I saw that it was Nayomi laying crumpled in the corner of the room, blood leaking from the corner of her mouth. Dark bruises were starting to appear on her face as well, and I finally understood what she meant by 'punishment.'

The boy noticed where my eyes were focused and looked back with a disappointed expression. "Ah, yes. She was supposed to find a way to isolate you and get you easier to manipulate again, but useless as she is, failed to do that. Making me have to fetch you on my own as well...unforgivable."

I saw Nayomi twitch some at that, and for once in so many years of knowing her, I was worried about her condition. How long had she taken the abuse before I'd woken up? How long before now had she been beaten? I turned and glared in fury at Kouta.

"Who the hell do you think you are, treating us like this?!" I demanded loudly, knowing that no one would hear me anyway. With the pool dim as it was, my hopes of a certain Sea God hearing us slim to none, but that sliver was still there. That one little hint of hope made me watch the sluggish waters out of the corner of my eye, praying that it would go still...

His fist came flying at me, connecting with my temple with enough force to spin me halfway around. Unable to hold myself up, I fell against the unforgiving stone wall as my ears rang. I suppressed a whimper of pain, choosing instead to bite his hand when he went to grab me again.

Kouta grunted in pain, then calmly pulled his foot back and smashed it against my jaw. I let go to scream in pain, the sound echoing off the enclosed walls around us.

"Defiance is a bad idea, Yukino," he chastised, moving me into a sitting position. The teen boy was perfectly poised, calm as he looked down at me. That more than anything started to frighten me, the fact that he was so used to doing this that it didn't get a reaction from him anymore.

I let my head hang down, gritting my teeth and debating on what I could do. If I didn't get out of this, I was in for one hell of a beating. I wanted to see if Nayomi was okay as well, as she had been undergoing this far longer than the short session I'd had to endure so far. I kept my eyes down from him while I thought hard, watching those damn feet of his.

"You know, if you hadn't have met that other boy and stayed alone, this wouldn't be happening." He squatted down to see my face, reaching forward to yank my head up by the hair. I hissed in pain, my eyes furious as I looked back at him. "You should have just let me and Nayomi play our game with you, then get rid of you when we became bored. Now both of you have to be punished."

"Punished for what? Not listening to a prick like you?" I spat, literally, into his face. Not a second later I received another blow to my body, this time right on my diaphragm. I fell into coughing fits at that, gasping for a breath through the pain. _Shit, shut your stupid mouth, Yukino!_

"Punished for finding a way to be without me," Kouta said, his tone icy now. "If I didn't do anything, you and Nayomi both would have left me, finding your own little happy endings. And I just can't stand being left behind by anyone."

I heard a whimper coming from Nayomi's direction, and both of us looked over to see her trying to get to her feet, tears rolling down her eyes as she tried to see past the swelling that marred her face. Her dark eyes looked at Kouta, pleading with them as she rasped words out of her broken throat.

"I w-was never going to leave you, Kouta-kun...I was happy with you." Her arms gave out from under her, and she fell back to the rock below, gasping in pain. "When I s-said I didn't care about Yukino, I r-really meant it..."

My heart flew out to her, and I tried to move so that I could go see her, maybe tend to her wounds. Nayomi was so beaten up, unable to even really move on her own, and she still was trying to calm him down, reassure him that she wasn't leaving.

_You sure as hell are when I find a way to get us out of here,_ I swore to her silently. She may have been a bitch, but there was no way I'd leave her with this psycho now that I knew what was going on.

Kouta sighed and pushed me back against the wall once more, making me bang the back of my head against it. I grunted in pain but managed to stay standing, eyeing him as he went back to Nayomi and grabbed her by the hair, lifting her up despite her broken scream of pain. He snarled into her face, looking more vicious than I'd ever seen him.

"You lying little harlot! I've seen you flirt with other men! Heard that you told someone that I was easily expendable! Do you think something like that wouldn't get around to me?!" He was shouting loudly, making her flinch back and wriggle weakly to get away from him, fresh tears rolling down her cheeks.

As furious as I was at how he was treating her right in front of me, I had to think. I tested the bindings on my wrists, but they didn't loosen at all. My feet were the same way, and there were no knives around to cut the bindings.

My eyes fell on the dark pool in the middle of the room, which was still moving like molten lead. I felt a sudden urge to hit my head against the wall myself for not thinking of calling the one man who would help me out of any situation.

I lowered my head to that my mouth was relatively close to the pearl, and I whispered fiercly, praying that he would head me.

"Takeru, Takeru, Takeru!"

"Oi, what are you doing?!"

Kouta's hand appeared out of the corner of my eye an instant before it hit my already banged up face. I hissed in pain and staggered, but grabbed onto a crack in the wall behind me and managed to stay standing. I glared at the boy through my white hair that was hanging in my face, expression making it clear that I was not going to take his shit.

"Who the hell were you calling?" he demanded, his anger now directed at me. _Good, it'll give Nayomi a break._

"Someone to kick your ass all the way to hell, that's who!" I spat at him, tone venomous. Those dull brown eyes of his flashed with rage, his hand grabbing onto my collar and lifting me up into the air. I struggled in his grip, feeling the fabric bite into my skin sharply.

"Where's your phone? I took it off of you before I brought you here, you don't have anything else!"

I snorted at him, then lashed out with my legs. I hit him right in the gut as hard as I could, making his breath whoosh out some. Unfortunately for me, it only seemed to piss him off farther. He let go of my collar, but as I fell his hand turned into a fist and hit my face once more. The force of this punch sent me flying to the side a couple of feet, and I landed heavily on the unforgiving stone, groaning in pain.

As he walked over, rage turning his face ugly, I lowered my lips back to the pearl and sent another prayer to my god.

"Takeru, Takeru, Takeru!"

"Oh, your boyfriend?" Kouta asked mockingly before giving a good kick to my ribs. I felt a strong pain radiate from the spot, and prayed again, only this time hoping that the slight _crack_ I thought I heard wasn't what I thought it was...

"Yeah, I heard that you were wandering around the city looking all depressed. What's the matter? He get tired of a smart ass bitch like you? Did he find someone who looked prettier than you?"

My expression flickered as the image of that damn goddess came to mind, and Kouta smirked when he saw it. "Ah, so he did. I wonder, does he even care about you now, since he's gotten someone who's better than you?"

Fury exploded within my, and when his foot came forward again I twisted out of the way and sank my teeth into his ankle like a dog, biting down with all my strength as he gave a pained howl. I didn't care as he started to try and shake me off, I held on, finally putting my mouth to good use. If I was going to be beaten, I might as well take a chunk of this bastard with me.

"You fucking bitch!" he snarled. He hit my head several times, enough to make my vision fuzzy and my thoughts blurry, but I stubbornly held on. I wanted this one to suffer, even if just by biting his foot off.

When Kouta finally started to bang my head against the rock wall, my jaws were forced to release their grip. I spat out the blood from the rather deep mark I'd left on his ankle, smirking up at him in defiance as I prayed once more.

"Takeru, Takeru, Takeru!"

On the outside I was putting on a brave front, but on the inside I was terrified. Terrified of what was going to happen till Takeru got here. Terrified of what was going to happen if he _didn't_ appear. Mostly the latter. If I'd wounded him so much that he never wanted to even see me or hear from me, then I was just royally fucked.

Kouta lifted me off the ground once again, this time by my neck. I choked and tried to breath through his grip, but he only tightened his grip on me, cutting off my air.

"Your little boyfriend isn't coming for you, Yukino," he spat, clearly enraged that I'd managed to injure him. "And now I have to punish you more. You're the only one who makes me this mad, do you know that?"

"Call it a gift," I coughed out, managing to smirk down at him. He frowned then, his eyes lowering to the pearl that still lay around my neck and looking at it thoughtfully. My panic spiked when I realized that he was reaching up to touch it.

"This only appeared right around the time I think you met your boyfriend," Kouta commented, lightly touching the pearl with a fingertip. A nauseous feeling overcame me when he did that, and I wondered in the back of my mind why this other man touching something I held so sacred to myself gave me that reaction.

All thoughts left me, though, when he grabbed onto it and pulled, making the clasp in the back shatter. I cried out at the sudden feeling of loss, utter terror streaking through my system as he let me fall to the ground. I immediately tried to get up, wanting my precious pearl out of his hands. The bile rose in my throat as he turned it over in his hands calmly, as if entranced.

"This is very pretty. Must have cost him a pretty penny to get you something you clearly hold dear." A cruel smirk appeared on his face, and he let the pearl drop out of his hand to the floor in front of me. I leaned forward, about to take it back, but a sharp kick to my already aching ribs made me pull back. "Ah, I didn't say you could have that. In fact, since it's from him..."

"N-no, stop!" I cried out desperately, realizing what he was going to do as he lifted his foot up above the pearl, horror making me freeze instead of try to reach out. "Stop!"

Kouta's foot came down hard upon the pearl, and a resonating _crack_ made my heart stop beating. I stared in shock as he ground his foot down, turning the once magical item into a smear of white dust on the rock. My body became numb in an instant, all the strength I had left flowing out like blood from a wound.

Just like that, the last connection I'd had with Takeru was gone, rubbed away like it had never been. A hollow ache made itself known in my heart, and the tears finally started to fall from my eyes as Kouta smirked down at my distress.

"Now that the eyesore is gone, I'm finding you much prettier in this state," he commented, kicking me with his foot to roll me over. I let him, body limp as I stared at the ceiling as pure terror came over me.

Takeru hadn't heard me. He wasn't coming to save me.

The brunette above me merely smiled, malicious intent in those dull brown eyes.

"So, lets go ahead and get this over with. Neh, Yu-ki-no-chan?~"

* * *

Takeru stood before the Emperor, head bowed down while his fists clenched at his sides. The elder god stared down at him with those slightly clouded eyes of his, stroking his beard in contemplation at his request.

"So you think she is in danger?"

"I know she is, mi'lord!" The Sea god said, unconsciously moving a hand up to his chest to rub the still painful area around his heart. The pain had only increased as of late, the longer he forced himself to stay away from his pearl. "Please, let me go see if she's alright!"

"I already told you that you were forbidden to see her again, Susano'o. Why do you think that I will change my mind now?" The Emperor asked him with a stern voice.

"Would you rather I have run off without your permission?" Takeru shot back, his temper and intense feeling of foreboding making him forget his manners. "Just let me go see her!"

He had heard Yukino's calls to him, and had felt the sudden sharp pains coming from her body in different places, quite a few on her face. He knew she was in trouble, but had hoped that she would get out of it. It wasn't until he'd felt the power within his pearl crack and disintegrate that he'd panicked. Now he no longer could sense what was happening to her, couldn't use it to check up on her. If the pearl had been destroyed, then something very bad was happening to his human.

"Hmm..." The old man leaned back in his throne, closing his eyes to think. Takeru fidgeted where he stood, itching to just get going. His brother stood a few steps behind him, watching silently with those golden eyes. He'd been the one to calm his brother down enough to take him to see the Emperor first before rushing off to see Yukino, not wanting his little brother to get in more trouble.

"Please, there's not much time!" The blunette begged, his voice breaking ever so slightly from his emotions. The worry he felt for Yukino was about to kill him. If the Emperor didn't let him go, he probably would disobey the order anyway, but maybe this way he wouldn't get into as much trouble...

The elder god looked down at him at that, narrowing his eyes.

"...Very well. You may check up on your human. Tsukuyomi, you will accompany him to ensure that he does not stray from his task."

Tsukito bowed low. "I accept this mission."

Takeru's face showed his immense relief, and he also bowed in gratitude. "Thank you!" He turned and bolted from the audience chamber then, eager to get to the portal and find out what was going on. His brother followed him with ease despite his fast pace, robes barely making a sound as they came to the Sea god's house.

Both of them stopped and stared at the still darkened portal, unsure of how to continue on from there. "Shit, I forgot that the portal wasn't working..." Takeru cursed with a grimace.

"What happened to it?"

"It was like this when I told Yukino to never call me again," he admitted, feeling the shame of that day creeping up his neck.

"...Did you mean that?"

Blinking, the Sea god looked at his brother in surprise. "Eh? W-well, at the time I did, but..."

Tsukito tilted his head to the side slightly. "But?"

"...But now I know that I shouldn't have said that." Takeru glanced away, sighing heavily. "I was mad at what she said, but we were both stressed. She'd just learned that I was engaged, by Kushinada herself, and I was frustrated that she wasn't listening when I tried to tell her that I couldn't see her in order to protect her."

The pool in front of him stilled some, and the lights grew a bit stronger as well. Both of them looked at it in surprise before glancing to each other. Hoping he was onto something, Takeru kept talking.

"Honestly, if she ever called to me again, I'd have gone regardless. Emperor's orders or not, I'm not going to let my silly jellyfish go easily." He smirked as a few memories came to him, feeling the ache in his heart soften for the first time in days. As the ache lessened, the light got brighter.

"...The portal reacts to yours and her emotional state," the Moon god realized. "If you truly wish to see each other, perhaps we can get through." The purple haired god looked to his brother. "Do you wish to see her again?"

"From the bottom of my heart," Takeru answered without hesitation, taking a step towards the pool as the lights grew in strength rapidly. "More than anything, I want to protect her, even if I have to go against the Emperor himself." His fists clenched, and he sighed in resignation. "I love her too much to truly let her go."

The lights around the pool flashed brightly, making both gods cover their eyes from the harsh light. When they dared to open them again, they realized that the pool had been restored to its previous beauty, the water clear and rippling happily within the rock. But most importantly, they could hear what was going on on the other side.

"What the hell did you do, Yukino?!"

Takeru stiffened when he heard the bastard's voice echo through their cave. Clearly he hadn't listened to his warning to stay the fuck away from his pearl.

A scratchy voice responded, barely recognizable from how beat up it sounded. "I d-didn't do anything, I really didn't!"

"Yukino?" The Sea god muttered, eyes wide as he peered through the now still waters to see what exactly was going on, Tsukito doing the same.

Kouta was peering into the portal from the other side, his eyes wide when he saw the two of them. He backed up a few steps, dragging a body by the hair with him. A body with familiar white hair.

Takeru felt the fury explode within him, a killing rage overtaking him within an instant. Snarling, he stepped forward into the portal, barely letting Tsukito have time to follow him through before he summoned the waters to take them to the cave on the other side.

As the water pulled away from them, Takeru zeroed in on the frightened boy before him, eyes hard with rage. Not giving him a chance to recover, he lunged forward, grabbing Kouta by the throat and slamming him against the wall. He swore he heard the crack of bone, but at this point he was too far gone in his fury to care. The Rampaging God snarled into the youth's face as he screamed in terror.

"What the hell did I tell you, bastard?!" he demanded, holding the boy up against the stone without mercy.

"I d-didn't do anything, nothing!" the pathetic boy whimpered, his hands trying to loosen the grip around his neck as he choked.

Takeru heard Tsukito move to check on the girl laying a few feet away, glancing over as he turned her face towards the light. His blood ran cold when he saw the blood and forming bruises on her face, one of her eyes swollen shut from a large lump on her temple. The god turned back to the boy, murder in his gaze.

"You lying fucker."

Tsukito turned away as his brother began to take out his fury on the boy, finding it hard to care as the human cried out for mercy. He checked Yukino as she coughed, trying to breathe through her mouth.

"Ts-tsukito-san..."

"Hush. We'll get you to safety," he assured her, preparing to pick her up.

"He-help her too," the girl rasped out, her pained blue eyes going towards another figure on the floor in the corner. The Moon god saw that it was another girl, one he didn't know. "She's been taking his shit for a lot longer than I have, take her first."

"We came only for you, Manabe-san," he told her, though he frowned slightly.

"Please, her first," Yukino insisted, her eyes pleading with him.

Takeru let Kouta fall when he heard Yukino plead with his brother, not giving a damn about the broken whimper the boy gave as he coughed up some blood. He walked over into her line of view, and his heart squeezed at the sight of her struggling to smile.

"Brother, get the other girl. I'll take her," he said, glancing at the unnervingly still body of Nayomi before he leaned over, very delicately picking his jellyfish up off the stone floor.

"We were only supposed to check on them," the Moon God reminded him, but he moved to Nayomi anyway, lifting her up gently in his arms and frowning at her unconscious face.

"Fuck that, I'm taking Yukino back." He glared over at the boy, who cowered before the angry god. "You're damn lucky I don't kill you for this," he said coldly.

"Wh...what the hell are you?" Kouta asked, his voice high pitched from pain and shock.

"He's Susano'o," the exhausted girl in Takeru's arms spoke up then, giving her assailant a deadly glare herself. "The God of Sea and Storms. And you pissed him off."

"Pearl, save your energy," he said, speaking to her softly as she coughed and inhaled with a bit of trouble.

"Your boyfriend is a fucking god?!"

"Yes, I am." The blunette nodded at the pool, summoning a whip of water to grab the boy by the neck and hold him up. "And if you ever lay a hand on another girl again, you can be sure that I'll kill you." His voice held a promise in it, golden eyes cold as he watched the boy dangle helplessly in the air before letting him drop, the water around his neck moving to bind him by his hands and feet.

A light touch on his cheek made Takeru look down at the girl in his arms, his heart once again aching at the sight of her beat up, bruised and bloody face. Despite that though, she had a soft smile on her lips, her one good eye looking up at him in love.

"I'm sorry I said that about the goddess that day," she mumbled, unable to talk that loudly.

"Shh...come on, let's get you somewhere safe. Tsukito." He looked at his brother, who waited by the portal pool patiently.

Nodding at each other, the gods stepped over the water, the surface going still and surging upwards to cover them. Takeru got one last look at the memories drawn in chalk upon the walls, illuminated by a revitalized pool that let the light dance and play within the cave once more.

Then he was standing in his house in the god's realm, stepping forward and turning to see a highly startled Kushinada in the room. His eyes narrowed at her, but he couldn't bring himself to care about why she was in his house.

"Go fetch Sukuna-san!" he ordered her, naming off the god of medicine and rain, knowing he would be able to treat the two girls effectivly. The woman jumped at his harsh tone, eyeing the humans in their arms before deciding it was best to just do as he said for now.

"Of course." Kushinada hurried out to find the healer, leaving the two men to lay the girls in the guest room Takeru had. The looked over them carefully, even Tsukito feeling angry at how much they had been abused.

"I should have killed the bastard," Takeru muttered, looking at a now unconscious Yukino.

"It would have been too troublesome if you had," Tsukito responded, a slight edge to his voice as he smoothed out Nayomi's ripped shirt and skirt in an effort to make her at least a little more comfortable.

The door to the room opened, and a short man dressed in a healer's robes appeared, followed by Kushinada, her father, and much to Takeru's surprise, a stray Greek god of Fertility.

"Yo," Dionysus waved. "I came to say hello, but I heard something had happened?" His eyes drifted down to the two human girls, and his bright golden eyes darkened in shock. "What...?"

"It's a long story," Takeru sighed, moving out of the way of Sukuna as the little god pulled out a bag of medicinal supplies.

"Tsk tsk, how in the world did this happen?!" he twittered aloud, lifting Yukino's arm to inspect the cuts and bruises she had.

"A human boy who decided it was a good idea to take whatever problems he had out on them," the god snarled in anger, ignoring the slight flash of possessiveness he felt when Sukuna lifted his girl's shirt to inspect the damage done there.

"Well he certainly did a number on them," was the comment. Takeru had to resist rolling his eyes, instead stroking Yukino's less hurt cheek to make himself calm down.

"Why is she here, Susano'o?" Kushinada's father spoke up then, not sounding happy at all about the appearance of the two girls. His daughter hovered behind him, a fan hiding the lower half of her face, but her eyes were wide and focused on the blood and bruises covering Nayomi and Yukino.

"I wasn't going to leave her there with that bastard!" the Sea god snapped, his anger not fully dissipated. "Would you have wanted me to leave Kushinada-hime with someone like that?" he demanded, taking the horrified expression on the other god's face his answer. "Then shut up and leave us be!"

"Susano'o," the goddess spoke up then, her voice trembling. "How did this happen?"

Takeru opened his mouth to say that it was her fault, for breaking the news of their engagement in such a destructive manner, but Sukuna, the little fireball that he was, interrupted him.

"It doesn't matter how it happened, I have two patients to treat! All of you, even you Tsukuyomi and Susano'o, get out so that I may heal these girls in peace!" His voice was high pitched in irritation, and all of the other gods flinched before doing as he said.

Sukuna may have been a lesser god than all of them, but everyone respected the healer. He had helped shape the earth, and was deserving of his title. Even if his less-than-soothing attitude rubbed a few other gods wrong on the occasion.

Dionysus glanced over at his friends in concern when they were out of the room. Tsukito pulled Takeru over, talking to their old classmate in hushed tones so the other Japanese gods wouldn't hear.

"So, who's humans are those?" the redhead asked, looking between the two.

"The girl with white hair is mine," Takeru said immediately, crossing his arms and giving a worried glance towards the guest room. "The other is...was...her enemy. She had taken the boy who had beaten them from Yukino, and they were on bad terms."

"But she asked to bring the other girl here," Tsukito said, shifting his weight ever so slightly.

"I guess even she could put aside her differences to help Nayomi," the blunette sighed, shaking his head. "I should have killed that bastard."

"Well, it'd be a chore cleaning up after that, so it's good you didn't." The God of Fertility shrugged before looking at him. "I thought you were to be married to that beauty over there." He nodded in Kushinada's direction. "What happened?"

"I met Yukino long before that came up." Takeru rubbed his forehead, feeling a headache coming on. "I could care less about Kushinada-hime and our engagement. I tried to convince the Emperor to rethink it, but he refused."

"So you had to break up with your human girlfriend? Harsh." Dio shook his head with a sigh.

"Tch..." His fists clenched and his teeth gritting, the Japanese deity looked at the floor in shame. "I should have been able to protect her..."

"You did the best you could," Tsukito told him, placing a hand on his shoulder to comfort him. "If you had kept in contact, the Emperor would have harmed you both."

"Oh?" The Greek put his hands behind his head, looking thoughtful. "The only way he could do that is by keeping you apart."

Both of the other gods looked at him, blinking. "What do you mean, Dionysus?" the purple haired god asked.

"Well, if someone tries to separate Yui and Apollon, they experience physical pain," the redhead explained casually. "Something about a bond between a human and a god when they fall in love with each other. They can't really be apart without severe repercussions. Sort of like withdrawal, or maybe a hangover." The lazy god mused, trying to put it into words.

"What happens when that bond is broken?" Tsukito asked, his brother rigged beside him.

"Unless the both desire to part, it can't be broken. Once both the human and god admit their love, to themselves or one another, it's nearly impossible to get their bond to break. You didn't know this?"

"They had no need to know it, Greek."

All three whipped their heads around to see the wizened Emperor himself step over the threshold of Takeru's home. Tsukito and Dio bowed in respect, but Takeru glared at the old god, fury reflecting in his eyes. The gray-haired man looked back with a calm expression, motioning for the younger god to approach him.

The Sea god strode forward, back stiff as he walked to stand in front of his lord. They stared at each other for a while, the tension in the air making the other gods nervous as they watched the silent confrontation.

"You brought her back with you." It wasn't a question.

"I won't leave her behind again." It wasn't debatable.

Bright gold met slightly dull gold in a contest of wills, neither willing to back down. Dio shifted uncomfortably, looking around for a possible escape route in case Takeru decided to be foolish enough to throw a punch at the head god of the Japanese realm.

A long sigh passed wrinkled lips, and the Emperor closed his eyes as he shook his head. "I tried to make the break clean, to save you both from pain, but neither of you desired to truly part."

"Why did you want us to separate?" Takeru demanded, his anger rising by the second.

"To spare you the pain of loosing the one you love." The man's voice was grave, his eyes flickering with memories of old. "I have gone through the experience, though it was a goddess who was my wife."

"Izanami," Tsukito murmured, just loud enough for others to hear.

"Yes." The god sighed heavily. "You and your brothers were born when I washed myself on the underworld's impurities after failing to get her, so the endeavor was not without a good ending. But," he said, leveling his gaze on Susano'o. "To love a human is to wish for that pain. I do not want you to go through what I did, son."

Takeru blinked at the old man, feeling his anger fade ever so slightly. He was trying to protect him from the sadness that awaited when Yukino died? The god eyed his father, conflicted feelings arising within him. Though the god before him was indeed his father, he didn't feel like he'd done much in the way of raising him the way he believed a father should. But now he could understand the reasons, of being aloof, and then trying to dissuade him from visiting Yukino in the human realm, and trying to get him married to another.

But just because he understood it didn't mean he accepted it.

"Izanagi," Takeru said informally, looking back at the Emperor with a steady gaze. His stance straightened, and he stood before his creator not as a subordinate, as the other gods did, but looked at him like an equal, his head held high. The other Japanese gods looked in shock at him, while Dio watched with lazy interest at what was happening.

"I appreciate you trying to spare me the pain. But," he added, before the old man could speak again. "I know what I'm getting myself into. She may be human, but I would rather go through the pain of seeing her grow old and dying by my side that seeing her live her life away from my side."

"Susano'o!" Kushinada exclaimed, shock and fury in her tone. "That is the Emperor you speak to!"

"This is my father I speak to, Kushinada," he retorted, giving her a look that shut her up very quickly.

Izanagi reguarded the Sea god carefully, thinking to himself while his hand ran along his beard in habit. Takeru watched him, his body refusing to move an inch. He would not give up this time, he swore.

"...Very well."

All the gods present, including Dionysus, paused, waiting for what this powerful god would say.

"You may remain with her for now, if it is she you truly wish to be with."

Takeru broke out into a smile, relief making his knees weak as he looked back at his brother and friend, seeing their matching grins.

"However," the Emperor continued, pulling his attention back to him. "I will require her to stay here while she recovers. I will see if she is worthy enough to remain by your side, or if she will be sent home to the human world."

"How will you deem her worthy, mi'lord?" Kushinada's father asked, glancing at his furious looking daughter.

Izanagi spared a glance at them before returning his gaze to Takeru. "That will be for me to know, and you to discover. For now, tend to her. I will return at a later date."

The old god turned around with more grace than another at his age could possibly possess and stepped out into the courtyard beyond the door, leaving all four gods and one goddess to watch as he left, wondering just what it was he had planned next.


	19. The Bet

**Alright, time to kick my lazy butt back into gear and keep writing. Cause apparently all of you are very eager to see just what happens next. Throws me off, honestly, cause I'm not THAT good of a writer, I think. I look over my story and go 'damn, I could have done this better,' or 'that definatly needs more detail.' Meh. Must be me and my own issues. xD**

* * *

I felt a hand caress my cheek softly as I began to wake up, tickling the skin and making me scrunch my nose. The hand stopped when I moved my face away and let out a satisfied sigh, but then I felt it pinch the skin and tug it away from my face. Whoever it was was being gentle, but I really just didn't want to be played with like that just yet.

I started to move a hand up to give the person a good smack, but a sudden, sharp pain in my ribs made me gasp and put it down. The hand let go of my face and instead fell to my shoulder. A familiar voice murmured to me, coming from right next to me.

"You shouldn't move just yet, jellyfish. You've got a few broken bones."

My heart leaped from my chest, and I forced my eyes to open, glancing in the direction of the person I most wanted to see. The blunette was there, smirking down at me with those bright golden eyes soft as he patted my shoulder. I found myself smiling back and trying to sit up, just so that I could get a better look at him, maybe even hug him.

Unfortunately, he seemed to be right about the broken bones, and I hisses at the feeling of pain that stabbed me all of a sudden. I lay back down and pouted. "Dammit."

Takeru chuckled before leaning down and giving me a light kiss on the forehead before pressing his own to it. "You feeling okay?"

"You want an honest answer?" I asked, frowning at how raspy my voice sounded. "Water please?"

The god grabbed a waiting glass from nearby and helped my lean up enough to take a few deep gulps of the clean, cool water. I sighed in relief before settling back down. "So...where are we?" I asked, turning my head to look around the room I was in.

It looked like a traditional Japanese house, with shoji decorated with beautiful art of the oceans and sky. A window was set high in the wall, letting in what seemed to be the midday sun to brighten up the room. It had a very comfortable atmosphere, and I found myself relaxing despite not knowing where I was.

"You're in my home," he said, shifting to a more comfortable position as I stared at him in shock.

"Y-your home?!"

"I did just say that. He hit you harder than I thought, apparently," he said dryly, a frown appearing on his face. "How the hell did he manage to get you, anyway?"

I frowned as well, closing my eyes and sighing heavily. "Well, Nayomi tried to threaten me with a knife to come with her, but I ended up running. Then that bastard appeared and knocked me out with a chemical. I came to in the cave, already bound up." I looked over at him, suddenly remembering. "Hey, where _is_ Nayomi? You guys brought her back too, right?!"

Takeru nodded, then pointed beside me. "She's right there, actually."

I turned my head and was relieved to see the other girl, still fast asleep. I couldn't blame her for being passed out after having to go through such an ordeal.

"Is Manabe-san awake yet?"

I heard Tsukito's voice from the door, as well as the rustle of fabric. I turned and was surprised to see not just him, but another god as well. He was clearly not Japanese, if his loose fitting attire was anything to go by. Most of his chest was exposed, and the burgundy and green fabric wrapped around him shifted as he moved, barely leaving anything to the imagination. His long red hair made his twinkling gold eyes stand out, as well as the jewelry adorning his body as well. If I were to be honest, he looked like he'd just come from a romp in the sheets, taking the sheets with him.

I blushed slightly and glanced away before looking back, wondering just what I was supposed to do. Takeru turned and looked at the two other gods.

"Yeah, she's awake. Nayomi's still out, though."

"..." Tsukito moved into the room wordlessly, going over and crouching by the dark haired girl to check up on her. It stuck me as slightly odd, but I figured someone had told him to watch over her. I looked back at the stranger, one eyebrow raising in question.

"Ah, the princess has awoken from her slumber," he said with a smooth smile. The redhead came and knelt by me, taking my hand gently and kissing it politely. "I am the Greek god of Fertility, Dionysus." He winked in a flirtatious manner, and I couldn't hide the deepening of my blush this time.

"Oi, bastard!" The Sea god growled, taking my hand from the flirt and glaring at him. "I told you before that she's mine."

"Ah, sorry sorry! I just can't help myself when I see a pretty young lady~" Dionysus chuckled, giving me a sly look that meant he had only wanted to tease Takeru. I grinned at him, liking this one.

Takeru huffed and muttered something to himself, keeping a hold of my hand. I let him, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"So, why am I in your world?" I asked him, watching as Tsukito straitened Nayomi's hair, clothes and blankets to make her more comfortable.

"I wanted to bring you somewhere safe," the blunette admitted, scratching the back of his head in slight embarrassment. I grinned at how cute he looked. "You'll be able to stay here while you recover as well, while Sukuna-san tends to your wounds."

"Sukuna-san? God of medicine?"

"Yeah. He's the one who bandaged you up when I brought you here a day ago."

I gasped. "I was out for a whole day?"

Takeru nodded, his thumb rubbing my hand slowly. "I'm just glad you woke up, honestly."

I grinned at that, tone teasing as I spoke up. "Well I guess my little sea monkey can worry about things."

Dionysus snorted, covering his mouth to hide his laughter. "S-sea monkey?"

Takeru shot him a deadly glare before leaning back and crossing his arms. "Aye, just like she's a soft little jellyfish."

The Greek snorted again, failing to contain his amusement as I hissed at the god before me. "One that can still sting you if you rub me the wrong way!"

"Nah, I prefer to bop that silly head of yours. Much more amusing," he smirked, clearly enjoying making fun of me.

I scowled, throwing my arm up despite the sharp pain to attack his stomach. He fell backwards at the first tickle, hitting his head against the wall in an effort to get away. Both Dionysus and I busted out in laughter as he held his head, glaring in my direction.

"I'll get you back for that one!"

"Only when I'm all better, but by then you'll have forgotten~" I teased, pullng my arm back down to make the pain stop.

"Not likely," he huffed, sitting back up.

I heard a low groan of pain beside me, and turned my head to see Tsukito pull his hand back as Nayomi opened her eyes, focusing and unfocusing rapidly.

"Ow..." She pulled up a hand to press to her eye, the one that had been hurt the most by Kouta's abuse, only to pause when she saw the bandages adorning her arm where the cuts and bruises were. Her eyes widened and panic and she sat up quickly, only to hiss in pain and clutch her abdomen.

Tsukito leaned over and put a hand on her back to steady her. "I would advise against swift movement. Your body has taken quite a beating."

"Well at least _she_ can sit up on her own!" I griped, feeling rather jealous of the fact.

Nayomi's head whipped around to see all of us, a panicked expression on her face as she flinched away from the god of the Moon. "Wh-what's going on?! Where am I?!"

"Miss, please calm down. You're safe." Tsukito didn't seem to mind her distress, speaking in a calm, level tone that drew her attention. I watched the two, slightly facinated.

"Wh-who are you guys? Wait..." Her eyes landed on Takeru and I as I tried to sit up, the Sea god helping me to do so. I leaned back against him gratefully, glancing back at him to give him a small smile, which he returned. "I-isn't that your boyfriend?" she asked, pointing at him with a trembling finger.

"Yeah, why?" I said, not really getting why she was freaking out so much.

"Why is he dressed like that? Why are all of them dressed like that?!" Nayomi demanded, turning back to look Tsukito up and down. "Are they in cosplay or something?"

"No, they naturally look like this." I raised an eyebrow.

"Yukino, she doesn't know that we're gods yet," Takeru muttered. I blinked, feeling incredibly stupid at that point.

"Ooohhh..."

Dionysus laughed at that, throwing his head back and putting his hands on his hips. "You definitely took a good knock here and there if you can forget that fact, Yukino-chan," he said.

"K-kouta!" Nayomi blurted out, her head whipping around fearfully now. "Wh-where is he?"

"Gone." Takeru was the one who spoke up, eyes hard. "I made sure that he wouldn't harm either of you again. Should have just killed that damn bastard."

"Takeru, it would have been troublesome for us and the rest of the gods if you had done so," Tsukito reminded him, only to receive a shrug from his younger brother.

"Can someone just tell me what's going on?!" Nayomi demanded, her voice exasperated. I shook my head, snapping my fingers to gain her attention.

"Alright. You better believe me when I say this, cause honestly, it's all true. You know Takeru," I said, nodding my head to the god behind me. "He's also known as Susano'o. This is his brother Tsukito, though his real name is Tsukuyomi. This one is Dionysus," I pointed to the redhead, who bowed low with a grin. "He's the first Greek god I've met though."

"G-god...? They're all gods?" she murmured, looking at Tsukito closely. "Are you sure?"

I sighed, understanding her doubt. I looked back at Takeru expectantly. He raised an eyebrow, then rolled his eyes and summoned some water into his hand, forming it into a ball.

"Hey, look here."

She turned her head, only to have her eyes nearly bug out of her head at the sight of a ball of floating water. "Whoa..."

"Told you so," I said, unable to resist the smirk on my face.

Nayomi turned and eyed me for a few seconds, clearly not liking the fact that I knew what I was dealing with while she was rather lost. Tsukito drew her attention when he sat back on his legs, looking at her.

"Regardless, know that you are safe here, and will remain in our realm while you recover," he said, his golden eyes watching her reactions.

"...Fine." the dark-haired girl relented, laying back down on the bed and staring at the ceiling. I just barely heard her mutter, "Still don't believe you're all gods..."

I snorted a laugh at that, shaking my head. She'd learn in time that it wasn't a lie, just like I'd learned.

* * *

It took a few days for me to be able to stand on my own without aggravating my ribs to the point of agony. It hurt to breath if I stayed up too long, but at least I was able to get out of bed and take a look around.

Takeru stayed nearby at all times, only leaving my side either to fetch me something or to sleep. And even then after a few nights he wanted to sleep in the bed with me! Much as I loved the god, I just couldn't get over how embarrassing it would be to sleep curled up next to each other.

Nayomi had been taken away to Tsukito's house nearby, since she and I had been getting into an argument at least once a day. She was grateful that I'd saved her, but the bad blood between us still hadn't gone away, and I wasn't quite ready to bury the hatchet with her.

She seemed to be doing fine, as I saw her occasionally chatting with Tsukito, normally trying to persuade him to let her do something she probably shouldn't be doing. Much to the credit of the Moon god, he never relented, which clearly caused her a lot of frustration since she was used to getting her way.

I stood in the doorway one day while Takeru was off, having to do his daily god duties in the morning, so I was in the house alone. I was watching the cherry blossoms fall to the earth as a warm, gentle breeze blew. I pushed my bangs from my face before adjusting the kimono I'd been given to wear, as the clothes I'd come to this world in were torn and bloodied beyond saving.

I saw an older man walking through the garden out of the corner of my eye, and I watched him casually while I nibbled on a riceball I'd swiped from the kitchen. He didn't seem to stand out much, other than the rather extravagant robes he wore, but my eyes were drawn to him for some reason. I tilted my head as I watched him proceed through the garden.

He seemed to have sensed my eyes on him, for he turned a minute later and spotted me at once. I blinked, not expecting him to look directly, but just smiled and lifted my hand in a friendly wave, taking another bite of onigiri. His expression seemed a little surprised, but he lifted his hand in a return wave before continuing on his way.

I brushed my hands together to rid them of the few grains of rice sticking to them after I finished my riceball, deciding it would be nice to take a walk myself. I wouldn't go too far, since I still tired easily, but it would be nice to feel the sun on my skin for once. I delicately stepped down onto the stone path that wound through the lovely garden and made my way to the center cherry tree, quite happy already.

However, that changed when I realized that I wasn't the only one taking a walk.

A familiar goddess was sitting beneath the cherry tree, looking very prim and proper in her highborn mannerisms. I unconsciously scowled at the sight of Kushinada enjoying herself in the midday sun.

I was about to turn and leave when she just so happened to notice me. A slight smile appeared on her painted lips, and I muttered a curse under my breath as she beckoned me over. I shuffled my way over, eyeing her cautiously. I didn't trust this one, not after the heartbreak she had caused me with just a few simple words.

"I'm surprised to see you walking about already, Manabe-san," she said in a casual tone. "I thought your ribs were broken."

"They are, I just know how to move around without agitating them now," I said in a wary voice, standing a few feet away from her.

"That's good. Sukuna-san is also an excellent healer, so I knew you'd be up and about soon enough." The dark haired goddess leaned back slightly, watching the petals fall from the tree above. "How are you liking our world here, Manabe-san?"

"...Honestly, I like it a lot," I said truthfully, looking up as well to see the white clouds in the blue sky above. "It's beautiful here, never uncomfortable. It's a bit monotonous in weather terms, but I don't mind it that much."

"Monotonous? How so?" she asked, actually looking interested.

I shifted my weight back and forth slightly, humming a note while I thought how to put it into words. "It's always fair here, I've noticed. No heat waves, or cold spells. No thunderstorms that come through, no rain at all. I like change in the weather a little bit, as long as I can know what to expect and plan to do before hand."

"What do humans do when they know what to expect?"

"Well, on sunny and hot days, one might go to the beach to take a swim and cool off. On days like this one, they might plan a picnic of a nice hike outdoors. When it's a bit cold or raining, they'd stay inside and curl up with a heater, maybe reading a book or enjoying the company of their family, even taking a nap."

"It seems humans can find plenty of things to amuse themselves," she commented, looking at me with her bright golden eyes. "And what do you prefer to do on those hot days?"

"Well, rain or shine I go to the ocean. I've always loved it, and even just being able to hear the waves in the distance has the ability to calm me." I smiled as I talked of the sea, a few memories from my past and recent times floating to the forefront of my mind.

"Is that why you like Susano'o?"

My head snapped back down to look at the innocently smiling goddess, my blue eyes narrowing at her. "What do you mean by that?" I asked her, tone edging on frosty.

"Is your love of the sea why you like Susano'o so much? Because he is the god of your favorite place?"

My fists clenched as my anger sparked to attention. I took a slight breath to calm myself before answering her with care.

"My preference of the sea was part of what drew me to him at first, yes, but as I got to know him better, that didn't matter anymore." I let my mind wander to the days we'd first started talking to when we eventually got closer and closer, a smile tugging at my lips. "At first he was really standoffish and prickly, and it made getting close to him a challenge, but as we opened up to one another, I found things below that rough exterior that I could relate to.

"He's kind, caring and very protective of those closest to him, especially his brother. He enjoys little things, like taking walks in the surf or watching the sunset, even collecting shells. I found we both have a few issues trusting others, but were able to trust each other wholly. There's no one else I'd lay down my own life for," I said firmly. "Just as I know he would do the same for me."

Kushinada looked at me while my face softened as I talked, seeming entranced by the expressions I made as I talked about the God I loved. She almost seemed thoughtful when I turned to look at her again, her head tilted to the side.

"You truly love Susano'o?"

"I do." There was no doubt in my voice as I answered, nodding.

"Hmm, then this will be a problem indeed," she mused, sighing dramatically.

"What will be a problem?" I demanded, narrowing my eyes as the goddess beside me.

"You love him, but my engagement to him still stands." Kushinada pulled a fan out from her sleeve, lightly flapping it before her face as she looked falsely perturbed. "I don't know what you'll do after you're healed. Will you be sent to your world again, or will you try to break up our engagement? Though that would be very rude of you to do."

I felt my lips pull back into a snarl at the woman, nails digging into the palm of my hands to stop myself from throttling her. _I knew she'd pull something like this!_

"Well you'll just have to find a way to catch his attention, now won't you?" I challenged, not about to back down from this bitch as I had before. If there was someone worth fighting for, it was Takeru.

"Oh? Is that a challenge?" she cooed, standing up and looking down at me. Damn tall goddess...

"Yes, it is. If you can find a way to snatch him away from me, not half assed, _all the way,_ then you can have him."

"And you?"

"I'll return to my world. You'll never hear from me again."

Kushinada fanned her face again, contemplating. "And if I don't manage to get him?"

"The engagement is off. You leave him and I alone for the rest of our time together." I held my head high, meeting her golden gaze without flinching.

"Hmm...I think I shall take this bet of yours, Manabe-san." Her lips tilted in a confident smirk, and I felt my own mouth curl into a smile. "The Emperor must be notified of this, but I believe he shall find these terms agreeable."

"So we have a deal?" I asked, holding out my hand for her to shake.

Kushinada eyed that hand, a flash of caution appearing in her expression at the confidence I had. Then she delicately took the hand I offered. We both squeezed at the same time, not hard, but we both measured each other's will as we shook, sealing the deal.

"May the best woman win," I said.

I may have felt confident on the outside, but on the inside I was yelling at myself in utter panic.

_Are you retarded?!_


	20. The Mistake

**Yay, another chapter! I beg you for your patience as my story goes on. Unforseen events have prevented me from writing this earlier, but I shall always write for my dear readers. :3 Now, let's see where this bet of theirs shall lead...**

* * *

I knew I'd end up regretting this bet, but of course my stupid self just _had_ to prove a point to that overconfident, uppity bitch of a goddess. I groaned and hit my head against the wall of my room an hour later, praying that this wouldn't end with this blowing up in my face.

Glancing at how the light looked, I realized that Takeru would be home soon. He had had to stay late and get his duties that he'd skipped to tend to me out of the way before being allowed to return, and I thought of how I could welcome him home. Humming in thought, I stood up with a bit of difficulty and wandered around the house, looking for something I could do for him.

A strange noise came from the kitchen, drawing my attention. Frowning, I peeked inside, only to choke on air at the sight I saw.

Somehow or another, Kushinada had snuck in and was now in there, cooking. _Cooking._ I stood there with my mouth open in shock as she turned around. She looked different than normal, and it took me a few seconds to realize that she had taken on a human form. Her normally long, flowing hair was shorter, only down to mid-back. Her golden eyes had faded to a deep shade of forest green, and she wore a functional kimono instead of her flowing robes. She hummed while she worked, mixing the rice in the pot in front of her.

"What the _hell_ are you doing in here?!" I demanded, utterly flabbergasted at the sight of the proud goddess looking...well, human.

"Hm? Oh, I'm fixing Susano'o some lunch for when he returns," she replied happily, turning to face me while holding a wooden spoon in her hand. "Why, were you going to do the same?"

"...No. I can't cook." I grimaced at the slew of horrible past experiences flooded my mind. Kushinada smirked in triumph as I divulged the information.

"Ah, too bad. The mark of a good wife is her cooking skills~" That jab said, she turned back to what she was doing as I glared viciously at her back.

Scowling now, I marched out of the kitchen as quickly as my ribs would allow without aching, now wondering what in the world I could do to top her. From the glance I'd gotten at what she was making, it was going to be a very delicious meal. I looked around the house, poking my nose into a few rooms I'd never been in before

One of them appeared to be his bedroom, and I blinked at just how dirty it was. He must not have had time lately to clean up after himself. I stepped in and closed the door behind myself, rolling up the sleeves of my kimono and setting to work.

* * *

Takeru sighed in relief as he opened the door to his home, glad to finally have caught up with his duties enough to relax. He'd been so focused on helping Yukino feel comfortable while she was on bed-rest he'd skipped his role as a god, till the Emperor had practically ordered him to get back to his job. As interesting as it had been to see the amusement on the god's wrinkled old face, it had still been a lot of work to do in one day.

As he stepped over the threshold, however, he paused. He thought he smelled...food? Recalling that Yukino had no talent in the kitchen, the god rushed to the kitchen in worry.

He stopped at the doorway, eyes widening at the sight of the literal feast before him. All kinds of food were set on the table, very well done and smelling absolutely delicious. His golden eyes drifted to the casually sitting woman there, sipping on some green tea she had brewed. She looked human, but also very familiar...

"Kushinada-hime?" he asked, stepping into the room

"Ah, welcome home mi'lord~!" the goddess greeted, standing up to bow in welcome. "Was everything okay today?"

"Y-yeah...what is all this?" Takeru asked, motioning to the full table.

"I thought I'd fix you something to eat, knowing how hard you worked." She smiled at him, seemingly very happy with herself. The blunette eyed her, not sure of her intentions. She'd never done this before...what was going on?

"I'll eat in a bit, I'm rather tired...where's Yukino?"

A flash of frustration crossed her green eyes, but Kushinada merely shrugged. "I haven't seen her for a while now, she wandered around the house a bit though."

"Thank you." The Sea god brushed past the goddess, heading for the guest room first to see where his little pearl was. She wasn't in her own room, and as we went through the house, he found no trace of her. Frowning, he wondered if she'd decided to take a walk.

_Well, at least I know no one will harm her in this realm,_ he told himself, sliding the door open to his room. He paused, seeing that something was off.

It took him a few seconds to realize that the sudden change to his room was that it was clean. Golden eyes moved over the properly stored swords, folded clothes and organized spaces before landing on the figure laying on his bed. A smile tugged at his lips at the sight of Yukino fast asleep, her face buried into his pillow while she hugged it tightly. Takeru strode over and gently stroked her cheek, hearing her mumble when she shifted around.

"Silly jellyfish," he mumbled affectionately. A quick shift to human form, and he lay down beside her, hugging her from behind and tucking his body around hers to keep her warm. Mindful of her still-healing ribs, he settled in for a nap, content to have her in his arms while they slept.

* * *

I was very surprised when I woke up after accidentally falling asleep on Takeru's bed. He had snuggled me while we napped, and even though I was extremely embarrassed, I was giving a huge consideration to doing it again. He'd been so warm, and the way he'd mumbled in protest as I'd tried to wake him up was just too cute.

Kushinada hadn't been happy when we both appeared, yawning and trying to straighten our clothes out, and the look she had given me would have made any other person wither. I'd merely smirked, realizing I'd won the first round.

Tsukito and Nayomi came over for dinner, making it five people to eat all the food the goddess had prepared. I was surprised to see Nayomi in a completely new outfit, one she proudly said she had made herself.

"I really don't like the kimonos, but this is a lot more comfortable," she said, giving me a twirl when I asked her as we prepared to eat. She was dressed in a purple dress that reached her mid-thigh, with a strapless top decorated with silver lining to accentuate her bust. She'd put sheer light pink fabric around the middle as well as for the sleeves, giving the dress a nice accent. Thick silver bands encircled her upper arms, and she'd fashioned some nice purple shoes as well. I was rather envious of her skill with cloth, and she giggled when I mentioned this to her.

"You just have to have the talent for it," she said, grinning foolishly at me.

"Maybe you should make me an outfit sometime," I commented, shaking my head as we sat down. "Just not...so short for me, if you please."

"Your body type couldn't pull something like this off, Yukino-chan," was the response, and I had to bite back a comment at the reappearance of the old Nayomi. I was glad she was getting better after the whole Kouta thing, but I'd rather her not have her flashes of bitch.

"Let's eat," Tsukito said then, sitting at the table. Both gods and the one goddess were in human form, probably to make me and Nayomi feel more comfortable. I could see the way she glanced at the Moon god in curiosity, though, so it was probably her first time seeing his human self.

"Thank you for the food," I said politely before reaching for what I wanted. Everyone else followed suit, tucking in to the very good food.

"Wow! This is so good," Nayomi said, savoring a mouthful of rice and chicken.

Kushinada beamed proudly. "I worked hard on it all, so please eat up!"

I mentally rolled my eyes at her while I ate, though secretly I was impressed at her culinary skills. Everything was seasoned and cooked to perfection, and I could only stew in my jealousy in silence.

"How have you been, Takeru-san?" Nayomi asked, always the one to start the conversations.

"Good, had to do some catching up on my duties today." His answer was short, and I couldn't blame him for not trusting Nayomi still. I was only just starting to get used to her presence, at least able to tolerate her for more than ten minutes now.

"You too? Tsukito-san had to do that as well," the dark haired girl commented as she nibbled on a sauteed veggie.

Both Takeru and I glanced in surprise at Tsukito as he calmly ate his own food in silence. Him? Skip his duties? Even I knew that it never happened. He closed his eyes and sighed ever so slightly.

"I had other duties to attend to first," he said, not clarifying exactly what other duties he ment. It was...odd, to say the least.

I frowned, thinking to myself about what else he could possibly be doing as Nayomi chattered away, quickly engaging Kushinada and debating back and forth with her about something or other that I honestly couldn't care about.

* * *

After we all ate we went our separate ways, I myself hunting down a good book and heading into the afternoon sun for a nice relaxing read. Takeru decided to join me, even though I told him that I would probably be absorbed in the book pretty quickly. He said he didn't mind, that he just wanted to stay close in case I needed anything, to which I smiled at him fondly.

I took a seat beneath the center cherry tree, leaning against the trunk instead of using the bench that was offered. The Sea god, still in his human form, settled in beside me, glancing at the book I was opening up. It was a story about a young girl setting off on an adventure to save her older sister, ending up flying all across Japan and meeting many mythical and exciting creatures.

"That looks interesting," he said. I nodded and flipped to the first chapter, reading the poem that was written there.

"It is. I've been wanting to read it for a while now," I admitted, scanning the first few sentences before settling back against the tree behind me.

Like I'd warned him, I got absorbed into the book almost at once, eating up the pages with surprising swiftness. Before I knew it I looked up and the sun was starting to set on us. I saved my page and stretched, looking over to realize that Takeru wasn't there anymore. I frowned and stood up, walking around the garden to look for the missing god.

I heard voices coming from behind a thick part of the trees, both very familiar. I eased my way through the brush, trying to keep hidden as I peered through the leaves to see Takeru being cornered by Kushinada. He looked bemused as she talked in a soft voice, and I was unable to make out what was being said from this distance.

I scooted closer, straining to hear what was going on when I froze as Kushinada wrapped her arms around his waist, smiling up at him seductively. The blunette sputtered a protest, which she quickly cut off with just a finger pressed to his lips. She spoke, and this time I could hear her clearly.

"Come on, she doesn't have to know~ Just one kiss is all I ask."

Fury shot through my system, making me see red. _That underhanded, no good bitch!_

Just as she lifted up to snag a kiss from Takeru, I grabbed her by the back of her kimono and pulled her off rather forcefully. Kushinada stumbled backwards as I planted myself in front of my god, glaring at her murderously.

"E-excuse me! You're interpreting something!" she huffed, clearly embarrassed to have been caught by me.

"Yukino?" Takeru looked down at me, but I was too pissed off to register either of their words.

"You bimbo, this was not a part of the bet!" I hissed furiously, to which she frowned.

"You said to win him over, you didn't specify what type of way I could do that."

"I figured you had at least some bone of self-respect not to try such an underhanded tactic like that!" I shot back, fists clenching at my sides. I was breathing a bit too heavily, and the pain in my chest forced me to gocus on calming down.

"What bet?" Takeru asked, his voice going hard behind me. I blinked, cursing myself for letting my anger take over me. I glanced back at him, ocean eyes apologetic.

"She and I had a bet," Kushinada said flatly, clearly not sorry at all. "She told me that if I managed to gain your total attention by the time of the date for our marriage, I could have you."

His amber eyes jerked to me, a furious expression appearing on his face and making me flinch. I turned to face him, finding him the bigger threat at the moment. "Why did you make that kind of bet?!" he demanded, rightly angry. "Let her have me? Am I just not worth it if she can steal me away?"

"C-calm down, let me explain please..." I murmured, wilting in front of his fury. This man was my weak spot, and I felt shame creep up the back of my neck at what he was probably thinking from the half information Kushinada had given him. The bitch had done it on purpose, and she watched as she drew her blasted fan from her sleeve, waving it while smiling.

"Don't bother. I'm going home," he spat, turning from me and storming off. I took a step after him, calling at him to wait, but he disappeared into the brush, leaving me and Kushinada alone.

I watched him as he vanished, my hand in the air in front of me as if to try and grab onto him, bring him back and tell him what I really meant. Guilt flayed me alive that I hadn't told him before now about what was going on, thinking that it'd be fairer so that he wouldn't obviously choose me. My mind battered me mercilessly for thinking that Kushinada would play fair in this game. I heard her chuckle behind me as a blush of shame crept onto my face.

I whirled on her, my shame turning to pure anger. "You did that on purpose you fucking low bitch!" I accused, not caring to hold back any kind of curses.

"Such language does not become a lady," was her lazy comment, and I had to hold myself back from wrapping my hands around her skinny little neck and throttling her on the spot. "And don't you know the rules?"

"What rules?!" I demanded, hissing as she turned and walked casually to the trees.

A quick flash of light and she was once again in her goddess form, those bright, holier-than-thou gold eyes tilted up as she smirked.

"All is fair in love and war. I do believe it was humans who came up with that term."

With that, she turned and left the clearing, leaving me to wonder how I was going to explain this whole thing to Takeru.


	21. The Freedom

**I post this with a heavy heart today, after learning that one of my all time favorite, and one of my very first, comedians has passed away. Robin Williams, you were an inspiration to me to keep laughing, no matter what the subject was. I'll miss you dearly. I have posted a poem in his memory onto my Tumblr account, Arias Windcaller. If you would like to read it, please feel free. Rarely have I been moved to do poetry, but this...this warrants a dedication.**

* * *

He was ignoring me.

I lay in bed the next day, staring at the ceiling with my arm on my forehead, frowning as I tried to think of what to do.

A direct approach wasn't going to work, I'd found. Takeru would just totally brush past me, acting like I wasn't even there. And if I just kept pestering him to talk back, he'd get up and leave the house completely.

And I thought I could hold a grudge.

I'd considered making him something sweet and writing out the words 'I'm sorry,' on them, but that wouldn't go over well without an explanation of why I had made the bet with Kushinada. He was already thinking that if he even showed interest in another, I thought he wasn't worth it. Maybe he thought I was testing him...but even in my mind I had to ask why he would possibly think that, after all that we'd been through.

_Why are men so complex..._ I thought to myself, sighing heavily as I sat up and moved to the porch to watch the clouds in the clear blue sky. It was something mindless I could do, just to zone out and think more clearly of what action I should take.

The day was beautiful, as it always was. Yet I could feel the slight chill in the morning breeze that caressed me that signaled that fall would be coming soon, and consequentially my time in this lovely realm. Though I had only been here for a little over a week, I found myself reluctant to leave such a place. It wasn't the fact that Takeru lived here either, but more so the fact that even with the troubles I brought on myself, I felt like I could truly be at peace here.

I sighed heavily, leaning against the door frame as I saw the other gods and goddesses start to appear, ready to start their days. Some chatted with one another as they headed to the palace on the hill, where they all went to do their godly duties each day. I never knew who did what or what each of their 'jobs' entailed, but everyone did their part to ensure that the balance in the human world was kept.

Soft footsteps came from behind me, and I turned my head to see a certain sleepy Sea god coming from his room, yawning and looking like he hadn't slept well at all. Guilt choked me again at the knowledge that I was the one who probably to steal him of his rest because of yesterday. I swallowed the nervous lump in my throat.

"G-good morning, Takeru..." I murmured, glancing away before hesitantly turning my eyes back to him.

His amber eyes turned to meet mine, and I saw a brief flash of several emotions before he turned away, heading to the kitchen to get some breakfast. My heart squeezed in pain when he didn't answer me, and I had to fight back the sting of tears behind my eyes. I sighed heavily, turning back to face the morning outside with much less hope than a few minutes ago.

I could hear him move around inside, eating a few bites of food before getting ready to go to the palace for his duty. Tsukito had once told me that before I'd come into the picture, Takeru had a bad habit of playing hooky, or just taking his time. The Moon god had noticed the change only when his brother had gone every day early in the morning, finished as quickly as he could and then disappeared the rest of the day. Knowing that he worked so he would have time to see me when I was still in my world had made me very happy, and I was proud of my god.

Now, though, it seemed like he was going to use his duties to stay clear of me. And I could only blame myself for that.

His footsteps approached me from behind, and I risked a glance back to see him in his god form, ready to head to 'work.' I moved aside so that he could pass through the doorway, lowering my eyes. The blunette was about to pass by when I reached out and grabbed his hand, squeezing tightly.

Takeru turned and looked back at me, his face carefully blank as I bit my lip and blushed, wondering why the hell I'd just done that. I might as well...I took a breath and offered him a tiny smile, hoping I wouldn't be rejected again.

"Be safe, okay?"

He blinked down at me, a flicker of surprise reflecting in his expression before he sighed and turned away. I let him pull his hand away as he walked down off the porch, feeling despair creep over me.

"...Don't do anything else stupid while I'm gone, jellyfish."

I paused at his words, wondering if I'd heard correctly. He stood at the path to the palace, back facing me as if waiting for an answer. I smiled in relief.

"I won't, I promise."

Satisfied with my answer, Takeru nodded and walked on, his pace quickly taking him out of my sight. I watched him go, letting the long sigh I had held back escape me.

Perhaps forgiveness was still attainable after all.

* * *

It was maybe an hour or so later that I noticed that I wasn't the only one staring out into the garden. Nayomi was sitting on Tsukito's porch with an odd expression on her face, one I'd never seen before. She also looked like she hadn't been getting any sleep either, with obvious bags under her eyes noticible even from where I was. Frowning, I stepped down from the porch and headed in her direction, wondering what was going on.

"Hey," I said when I got close enough for her to hear. Nayomi jumped slightly, having been lost in her own thoughts. She turned her tired black eyes to me, looking slightly confused.

"Yukino-chan? What are you doing here?" she asked, her voice soft. That alone put up a red flag, as she was one of the cheeriest and most out there girls you could meet when she was in the company of her favorite people.

"I was coming over to see how you're doing," I said, sitting down next to her and adjusting my kimono to be more comfortable. "You don't look so good."

The girl sighed heavily at that, nodding. "I feel worse. During the day I'm okay usually, I keep myself busy by helping Tsukuyomi-san around his place, but..." Her voice trailed off, and I saw a slight flash of fear in those eyes.

"...You still think of him, don't you?" I asked, voice gentle.

A nod confirmed my thoughts. "Every night, I can hear him laughing, I can feel the pain of the bruises and cuts..." Nayomi shuddered in remembered horror. "I always wake up screaming and crying, unable to get back to sleep easily."

I frowned in concern. She had dealt with Kouta's abuse far longer than my one day of beatings, so the scars on her heart would be deep, perhaps too deep to truly heal. My own heart went out to her, and I placed a hand on her shoulder comfortingly. Her dark eyes darted in my direction in surprise at my actions, clearly not expecting me to be so soft.

I smiled at her in her confusion. "I'm a jellyfish. I know when and when not to show my stingers to someone," I explained.

I got the desired result, and she bust into a fit of giggles that I joined in on. Soon we were laughing and joking around, the past tension that had been between us slowly melting away, leaving behind the ease of talking we used to have before a boy had come between us. I felt my chest grow warmer than it had ever been around her, and considered rekindling our friendship fully in the future. She was honestly a good girl, if manipulative and rather bitchy.

Nayomi sighed and leaned back on her hands, looking up at the sky. "I wonder what Tsukuyomi-san is doing right now..." she wondered out loud, a smile on her lips.

"He and Takeru are probably busy with their god duties," I said, looking over at her. "Maybe you should call him Tsukito. It's a lot easier than Tsukuyomi."

"Tsukito...san..." she murmured, testing it out on her tongue before nodding. "Yeah, that is a lot better. Thanks, Yukino-chan." She grinned at me, looking happy.

"Why do you wonder what he's doing?" I asked, curious about her reasons.

A very light, almost unnoticeable blush appeared on her face, and I had to do a double take just to make sure that I wasn't mistaken when she looked away. "W-well...you know how I've had nightmares now...whenever I wake up, he always comes and comforts me..."

"He does?!" I gasped, breaking out into a wide grin. "Oh god, that sounds so cute!"

Her blush only increased as she giggled in embarrassment. "Y-yeah...only...I don't know _why_ he does it."

"Eh?" I tilted my head. "What do you mean?"

"...Whenever he comes to me at night, he's always so sweet," she admitted, talking low so that if anyone else passed us, they wouldn't hear. "He takes me and holds me, rocking me and comforting me until I'm able to fall asleep again. But the next day, it's like nothing ever happened. He's back to his calm, annoyingly unflappable self."

I grinned, an overwhelming urge to mess with her overtaking me before I could stop it. "That's only cause you can't get him to let you do what you want, and you like that."

Nayomi sputtered and blushed, smacking me in the arm as I laughed loudly at her distress. "I-it's not like that, dammit! Stop teasing me, I'm being serious!"

"Okay okay, funny Yuyu gone." I pulled a straight face for all of five seconds. We stared at each other, then busted out laughing together, unable to help ourselves. Much as I would have hated to admit it out loud, I missed having a girl friend to talk and laugh with.

"Honestly, I don't know how I feel about him," she said when we finally stopped laughing long enough to catch our breath. "He's so distant, I can't pin down what he's feeling at any given moment. He's just like the moonlight."

"Calm and withdrawn, even when he seems close?"

"Exactly." Nayomi flopped onto her back on the porch, staring up at the clouds. "I mean, he's really handsome, and when he's comforting me he's so _sweet._ It's almost like he's keeping himself away for some reason, but I don't think I've done anything wrong..."

I sighed, shaking my head. "I don't really know Tsukito-san that well myself, but maybe if you just stay around him and try to get to know him better, he might open up to you," I advised, thinking that her and Tsukito honestly might be a good match for one another. The only problem I could see arising was when Kouta was brought up, and the scars that would ache on her.

The dark haired girl turned her head to look at me, eyebrows knit together in confusion. "...Why are you giving me advice? I'd think you'd still hate me after all that I've done to you."

I looked back at her with my deep blue eyes, giving her a straight expression. "Sometimes you have to know when to let go of the past, and look towards the future. Yeah, I'm still not happy with you for the way you've treated me." She glanced away at that, biting her lip. "But...I've missed being your friend," I admitted, grinning. "You used to be the only one who could bring me out of my shell, and honestly, I want to bring those old times back."

My hand moved to her, hovering with an open palm. "What say you? No more bad blood and memories?"

Nayomi sat up and stared at me, flabbergasted at my willingness to move on. She stared at my hand for about a full minute while I waited, trying to remain patient and hoping that she would accept.

Slowly, an earnest smile appeared, and her own hand grasped mine tightly. "Yeah. I want to be friends again, truly."

I smiled back, and then surprised her by tugging her forward into a very tight hug. She let out a rather adorable squeak, to which I giggled before letting her go.

"Just promise me that no man will ever come between us again," I said, giving her a stern look.

"Promise. The only reason I iced you out was because Kouta started telling me I should," she admitted, frowning.

"Hey, none of that," I said, flicking her nose. "Only happiness from now on. You need to talk, come to me."

The smile came back as she rubbed her nose and nodded. "Kay~"

* * *

I wiped the sweat off of my brow, grimacing at the ache I felt in my ribs from having to be bent over for so long.

My eyes scanned the room I'd just finished cleaning very thoroughly, finding no missed spots. Pleased with how well I was progressing in cleaning the Sea god's house, I rose to my feet and stretched my arms above my head to relieve the pain in my muscles.

Nayomi and I had parted ways a few hours ago, and I had thought on some ways I could improve Takeru's mood so that it would be easier to apologize to him. Since I couldn't cook for shit, I'd decided on cleaning the entirety of his house instead. The closer I had looked, the more I'd seen that it needed a nice deep clean. So I had rolled up my sleeves and set to work, doing my best to not aggravate my ribs in the process.

So far I'd done all the rooms except for the pool room, which I'd saved last for a special reason. I walked in there and stopped at the edge, looking down into the bottomless darkness that connected to my world. Tilting my head in curiosity, I knelt down beside the water and run my fingers through the warm liquid with a happy sigh.

As I played in the pool, I started to wonder what was happening on the other side. Was my mother okay? Was anyone searching for me an Nayomi? I'd been a week now since coming here, though to me it felt like an eternity. I sighed again. I wished I could peek into the cave on the other side, but I doubted that I'd...be...

Wait. Why was the water going still?

My eyes widened as the surface ceased to move, and through the water I saw the image of the Light Pool's cave appear, at least the ceiling. Someone was looking in on the other side...someone very familiar...

"Mom?!" I gasped, jerking my hand back out of the water in surprise as her own eyes widened at the sight of me on this side.

"Yukino!" she cried out, falling onto her knees and plunging her arm into the pool. The image distorted while she tried to feel for me, and I frowned at that.

"Mom, that's not gonna work!" I told her. She stopped, and I could see her clearly again after a minute. Sighing in relief that she listened, I looked down and spoke.

"I don't know how, but I guess I can use this chance to tell you where I am." I took a breath, hoping she'd believe me. "You know of the god Susano'o, right Mom?"

"Yes, of course. But what-"

"Takeru is Susano'o."

Silence. Not that I expected anything else, but I didn't know how much time I had to talk with her, so I rushed on.

"I met him in the cave you're in now, a few months ago after one day at school. He's the god Susano'o, and he came through the pool, which is a portal between the human world and the god's realm. The one I'm in now."

"Y-yukino, I don't think I understand...you're dating...a god?"

"It's fine, I didn't believe it at first either." I smiled softly, hoping to reassure her a little. "But it's true, I promise you. I'm here with him in the god's realm now. There was...an incident with the boy I used to like."

"I know. He appeared at the local police station ranting about how a god had nearly beaten him to death in a cave. They found the blood and proof of violence against you and Nayomi, but they didn't find you girls..." Mom took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. "Where's Nayomi?"

"She's here with me, under the care of Tsukuyomi," I said. "She and I are both healing as well. Kouta cracked a few of my ribs." I put a hand to my chest, rubbing there with a grimace.

The look of relief on my mother's face put me at ease, and I hoped she'd take what I was going to say next in good faith.

"I'm staying over here, Mom, with Takeru."

"What?! No, you have to come home!" she cried, once again reaching for the water.

"I can't," I admitted. "I don't even know how I'm able to talk to you right now through the portal, in fact. And...I'm actually happy here." Self-made mess with a certain bitch goddess not included. "I want to stay. I mean," I laughed lightly. "Do you know of any _human_ boys who would have been able to make me fall in love with them?"

I saw her pause, a million different emotions running through her eyes as she stared at my image in the water. I tried to show her with my own face just how much I wanted to stay here with the god I loved so much. Ignoring the possibility that if I didn't make up with Takeru soon I'd end back up in the human world again anyway, there was a good chance I could still stay forever by his side.

"...You better come to visit me, young lady. I won't let you ignore your mother."

I felt weak with relief as she smiled sadly at me. I giggled and nodded. "I promise I will. You'll just have to let me know whenever you're in town instead of out and about working."

"Actually...I'm staying in the city."

My eyes widened at that. "Really?"

"Yes...I happened to meet someone here. Seems you're not the only one ment for great romances," she said in a teasing tone.

"Eh? Mom, that's great!" I exclaimed, pleased that she had finally decided to date again and stop focusing on work. Maybe my being in the god's world wouldn't be such a bad thing after all...

The image of my mother started to waver, and I quickly rushed to talk. "The portal's giving out! I love you Mom, and I hope you'll be happy! I"ll see you again soon!"

"Okay dear! You be safe and happy!"

And then the image faded, the water in the pool rippling once again.

I felt tears start to fall down my face, and I wiped one away with a sigh. I would miss my mother, in all honesty, but now I could focus on my problems here without having to worry about her as well.

I looked around the pool room, seeing that it didn't need the cleaning I had thought it did. Which meant my job was done, so I got up and tottered to the nearest bedroom, suddenly exhausted. I flopped down and hugged the pillow, breathing in and realizing that I was free. Free to choose my path, without having to worry about how my mother was doing in the other world.

The tears fell slowly as I became overwhelmed by the sensation, and I closed my eyes as I cried in relief.

Now, I thought as I drifted off to dreams, how to get a stubborn sea monkey to listen to me.

* * *

Takeru stepped into his house, sighing heavily. He'd finished all the work he'd needed to catch up on, though it had taken a toll on him. His duties were important, just like the other's were, but with the added drama of the bet weighing on his mind, he was just plain worn out.

He looked around, half expecting to see Yukino moping in a corner or running up to him to try and apologize again. But she wasn't anywhere to be seen, and he was surprised to see how much...neater it seemed.

_She must have cleaned,_ the god realized. He sighed and started looking for his little human, checking all the rooms, his first. He found her in a spare room to the back, collapsed on the futon asleep with a pillow in her arms as usual. He walked over and knelt down to wake her up, only to pause when he saw her face.

Tear tracks here staining her cheeks, and her eyes were obviously a little puffy around the edges. She'd been crying...but what over?

The blunette sighed and sat back on his heels, looking down at the white haired girl with a sad expression. He was still mad about her going behind his back and making that kind of bet with Kushinada, that the goddess could have him if he strayed from the girl's side. It hurt his pride, that she would give him up so easily over something so simple, but seeing how she was currently trying to make up for it so desperately...it made him want to listen to her, to hear what she had to say.

Takeru rose back to his feet and let her be, heading into the kitchen to find something to fill his stomach, though he hadn't had much of an appetite after learning about the bet. He ate a few pot stickers, leaning back against the counter while his mind wandered in circles, always coming back to his contrary little human.

Maybe after he was done with his god duties tomorrow, since he wouldn't have to be there that long, he'd sit down with her and listen to what she had to say. After all, he couldn't stay mad at his little pearl forever.


	22. The Conversation with God

**I had originally thought to put this part and the last chapter together, but I decided to just break it in half so that maybe I can make it up to 25 or (gods-help-me) 30 chapters. Much amusement awaits!**

* * *

The next day when I woke up, I discovered that Takeru had left early for the palace. Which left me alone once again to think about how I was going to be able to apologize and explain my reasoning for making the bet with that damn Kushinada.

There was nothing to do in the house since I'd cleaned it yesterday, so I decided that today would be a good day to go walking and exploring. Sukuna-sama had come by after my nap yesterday to deliver some pain-killing herbs so that I could be more mobile, though he had warned me that I still shouldn't do anything too strenuous just yet because my ribs were still mending.

So now I could move about without having to worry so much about getting tired or winded, and a walk around the realm seemed like a _really_ good idea.

I put on a lovely blue kimono decorated with white flower designs and a bright yellow obi, given to me by a kind goddess when I first arrived. Most of my new clothes were from the generosity of the deities, and I still thanked them when I saw the pass by Takeru's house. I put on some sandles that would be comfortable to walk a long way in and stepped outside into the warm morning sun.

I took a right turn on the path, heading for the woods on the far side of the living area instead of the cherry grove garden I normally walked in. It took only a few minutes to reach the shaded area, and I took a deep breath in to smell the damp dew that still clung to the leaves.

I had to admit that besides the ocean, a nice walk in the forest was another way for me to find my calm and center my thoughts. The feel of the cool breeze through the trees accompanied by the sounds of the birds and other creatures in the distance had nearly the same soothing effect the sounds of waves upon a shoreline had. My muscles unconsciously relaxed as I kept walking, and I was able to breathe a bit easier.

My thoughts turned to the Sea god I had yet to pin down for a talk, and a slight frown appeared on my lips. He had seemed in a bit better mood yesterday, and after all that had happened with Nayomi and my mother, I was going to be able to completely focus on him. So I put my brain to work as I walked down the path, trying to find ways to approach the man I loved about this problem.

I was so absorbed in coming up with a tactic that would work I didn't notice the footsteps behind me till I looked up and realized that I had somehow taken the turn that brought me towards the Emperor's palace. I took a second to wonder how I'd gotten here when the sounds of being followed registered in my brain, and I turned around to see who it was. My hackles immediately rose, and I snarled at Kushinada as she smirked at me.

"A fine morning for a forest walk, don't you think?" she asked airily, her fan already out and waving air onto her porcelain features.

"What do you want now?" I growled, not wanting to have my day ruined so early in the morning.

"I just came to ask how Susano'o and you were doing, you know. Since he's still angry at you for not telling him about our little arrangement." Her golden eyes sparkled with glee as my anger increased.

"I didn't tell him because I thought I would stupidly give you a fair chance," I snapped at her, fists clenching at my side. "If I'd have known you'd try such slutty methods, I'd have told him the instant I saw him again."

Now it was her who looked angry. "Slutty? You dare accuse me of such things?"

"Yeah, I do." I jabbed a finger at her. "Who was it who tried to rub up against him and steal a kiss when he clearly didn't want it?"

Kushinada snapped her fan shut, eyes blazing in fury as she stepped closer and raised her hand. Before I had a chance to jerk back, it descended upon my face as she slapped me viciously.

I stood there in shock as she hissed back, temper finally out from under her control. "Little bitch, don't you even _think_ of breathing such an insult in my direction again! I am a _goddess,_ and you a mere human! Don't think that because Susano'o favors you now that he will in the future!"

My teeth gritted as I jerked my head back around to glare at her, shoving my face right into hers without an ounce of fear, only pure feminine outrage. "I may be a human, but at least _I_ have some semblance of _self-respect_ to not go chasing after another woman's man! You, on the other hand, are a spoiled, selfish brat who will use any kind of method to get what she wants, even if it ruins her name!"

Kushinada jerked back in surprise and anger, but I stepped forward, not nearly finished with her yet. "I worked hard to get where I am now with Takeru, and even in the face of this little farce of an engagement you set up, he and I have stayed together. I set that bet up so that you would learn that no matter what, _you don't stand a chance against me._"

Her mouth opened and closed, but no sound came out as I backed off finally, my eyes glittering with the remains of my frustration with this particular goddess. "You still have a chance at him, to be fair," I told her as I turned around, looking up at the palace. "But you better try and get to him before he comes home. Because he'll be coming home to _me_ only after today." I walked forward towards the grand gates, not bothering to look back at the stunned woman I left behind.

As I went out of her line of sight, I felt the surge of adrenaline start to ease out of my system, leaving it weak as I stumbled against the pearly columns outside the grand palace gardens. Along with the weakness was a sense of triumph, and I couldn't help my smirk at how I'd finally given that bitch a piece of my mind.

_Bet she thought all human women were weak, too._

As I leaned against the gate, I noticed a wizened old man just inside who seemed to be watching me. I recognized him as the man I'd seen walking around the cherry garden a few times, and turned my head to smile at him. "Good morning!" I called out in a friendly way.

A surprised look came across his face, and he looked left and right before pointing a finger at himself. I giggled at how silly he seemed and nodded, motioning for him to come over. The old man hesitated for a few moments, but then slowly walked towards the gates.

"It's rare to see a human at the gates of the palace," were his first words to me. "What brings you here, young lady?"

"I actually took a wrong turn walking through the forest," I admitted, smiling at him politely before bowing. "I'm Manabe Yukino."

His lips tugged upwards slightly, and he bowed back. "Call me Iza," he responded.

We straightened up and looked at each other. I noticed that his eyes were a little cloudy, but still had a spark of wisdom in their golden depths. His beard was long and grey, and not many hairs were upon his wrinkled head, but the calm aura he gave off put me at ease after the confrontation with Kushinada.

As if on cue, the goddess appeared, her face twisted in fury as she hurried up the path towards the gates. The old god and I turned to see her, and she looked ready to attack me before she stopped, her already pale skin going ghost white as her eyes widened in shock. I frowned, wondering what could possibly be her problem now when she dipped her head and turned around, hurrying away as quickly as she'd come.

"That was weird of her..." I muttered, eyebrows knit together. Iza looked at me.

"You know that goddess?"

"Unfortunately." I scowled at the place she'd disappeared from. "She's the one engaged to my boyfriend and keeps trying to weasel him away from me."

"You talk of Susano'o, correct? I'd heard he has a human living with him, but nothing about a relationship."

I turned to Iza, sighing. "I doubt he's told many people, since he's been told to marry Kushinada." My face unconsciously turned to one of despair and disgust, which seemed to intrigue the old man. He reguarded me for a few moments, and I tilted my head at him in question.

"Something wrong, Iza-san?"

"Hmm...come, it seems you have some things to get off your chest, and this old god would be happy to lend an ear." He lightly touched the gates between us, and they opened without a sound. I blinked at him in surprise, but I didn't want to be rude if he wanted to help. I stepped onto the palace grounds, a little giddy to be allowed in.

"Th-thank you," I said, not sure of how to act. He motioned for me to follow him into the gardens, and I did so quietly, mildly wondering where we were going.

That thought flew out of my head when I saw just how beautiful the gardens were inside the wall. White and pink cherry trees were planted around, with small bonsai placed in perfect positions. I saw a few keepers tending to the rock gardens and plants, and the water feature that was placed every so often gave a lovely ambiance to the entire place.

Iza led me to a stone bench beneath a very old, yet still very beautiful cherry tree with large blossoms on its branches. He sat down first before patting the space next to him invitingly. I complied, settling myself and sighing.

"So tell this old man what ails you, young lady," he said, watching me with those wide golden eyes. "You say that Susano'o is yours, yet he is engaged to Kushinada-hime."

"Yeah...but I've been seeing him for a lot longer than she's been interested in him." I leaned back and looked up at the falling blossoms, my heart feeling a little heavy as I talked. "I met him by accident, when I found the pool he uses as a portal in a cave in my world..."

I told old Iza everything from the beginning, of how I'd been first not too sure about the prickly Sea god and didn't know if I could trust him. I told him of how we'd eventually gotten closer, becoming friends through the love of the sea and doing things together that we had both enjoyed. My eyes softened as I talked of our night on the sea floor, when I realized that I had fallen in love with him. We laughed over his reaction to meeting my mother in her underwear, and of our first date the following day.

"He lost the bet, and had to sing on stage in front of a crowd. Then he dragged me up there to dance in the middle of the song and used the lyrics to...well, tell me he liked me back." I sighed happily at the memory, blushing lightly.

Iza chuckled, a smile on his face. "It sounds like one heart-stopping moment for both of you."

"It was. And then after we got off the stage, I got to meet his brother, Tsukito."

"Oh? And how did that go?"

"Awkward at first, but after a bit we all started to have fun. We went shopping together and got a few things as souvenirs before they had to go home. I remember being so eager for the next day too, cause Takeru and I were going to spend the day swimming..." I frowned suddenly, thinking about something.

Iza noticed and tilted his head. "Something the matter?"

"Yeah...I remember that the next day, he was late answering me when I tried to call him with the pearl." My hand unconsciously rose to caress my neck, only to bring a bitter reminder of what had happened to the pearl. "I think that was the day he was told about the engagement with Kushinada, cause he seemed off the entire day."

"It must have been heavy upon his mind, to have an effect when spending time with a lovely lady such as yourself."

I snorted at that, only to grimace at how _un_ladylike that just was. "Just wait till I'm mad enough, you'll revise your opinion," I joked. "Oh yeah...that was the day I almost drowned," I recalled, going back to my memories.

"You nearly drowned?"

"Yeah. Takeru had swam out way too far, and I was trying to reach him and bring him back, but I got hit by a strong wave. If he hadn't noticed, I'd have died..." I shuddered at the memory, grateful to the Sea god for saving me.

"Ah...I can imagine he panicked over that."

"Yeah. After I came to he forbade me from getting in the water for the rest of the day." I poked the tip of my tongue out to show my displeasure. "We ended up making sandcastles and finding shells till it was time for me to go home. And...we finally had our first kiss as well," I admitted, blushing ten shades of red while smiling broadly.

The old god chuckled, clearly amused. "Ah, youth. This one remembers it well with his own wife."

"Ah, you're married?" I asked, interested.

"I was. She died a long time ago, however, before Susano'o was even born."

"O-oh...I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring-"

He waved my apology away with ease. "It is in the past. I am more interested in you right now, since your time together with the Sea god has been so brief, yet so full of memories."

I smiled a little at that, nodding. "Yeah...after that day though, he was grounded, I guess you could say. I didn't see him for nearly a week..."

* * *

Takeru let out a satisfied sigh when he moved from his position among the other working gods, glad to finally be done. He'd started early so as to have more time later in the day for his little human, and was sure that she'd be happy about him being able to listen to her side of the story with no distractions.

As he walked out of the palace, however, he saw a group of goddesses clustered together and staring into the garden, whispering to each other and even pointing. Curious, he walked over to the gaggle of girls and spoke up.

"Oi, what are you standing here for?"

Many of them jumped at his unexpected appearance, looking guilty or surprised. They milled around for a few seconds before one of them in the middle spoke up.

"We were watching the Emperor and the human girl, Susano'o-sama. They've been in the garden talking for a while now."

"Human girl?" A feeling of dread made Takeru's eyes widen, and he quickly looked to where they all pointed. Sure enough, he recognized the pure white hair of Yukino sitting next to the familiar robes of the Emperor, with her talking animatedly while he nodded in agreement to something before speaking himself. The Sea god couldn't hear what was being said at this distance, but he had a feeling this may not be a good thing for him...

"Excuse me!" he said, moving around the girls and jogging towards the two quickly. Wondering exactly _how_ Yukino had found her way to the palace and in the presence of the Emperor, he slowed when he realized that he could hear them both now.

"-and then she tried to _kiss_ him!" Yukino hissed, clearly talking about what had happened the other day. He paused in moving, wanting to hear where they were going with this.

Izanagi tilted his head, his attention on the girl beside him. "Kushinada tried to steal a kiss?" He seemed fascinated by this revelation.

"Yes! And after I gave her a fair chance, she decided to try something like _that?!_" Yukino crossed her arms, staring at the ground in front of her hatefully. "And she also has the gall to try and gloat to me about causing a problem between me and Takeru today! That's why I was at the gates earlier, it was because she interrupted my walk to try and think of a way to apologize to freaking _gloat._"

Takeru blinked, remembering the way Kushinada had skipped coming to the palace today. Clearly, she had been scared away by his fiery jellyfish of a girlfriend. He couldn't help the amused chuckle that escaped his lips.

The two in front of them heard it, and when Yukino turned her eyes widened in shock. "T-takeru!"

"Ah, there you are, Susano'o," Izanagi said, standing up and smiling at his son. "Your lovely companion was just telling me of your story from her perspective."

The color drained from the god's face when he heard that, looking at a rather embarrassed Yukino. She'd told him about them from _her_ perspective? Something told him the gleam of amusement in the Emperor's eyes meant that he had gotten a hold of more than a few things to hold over him...

"M-mi'lord," he stammered, lowering his eyes in respect at the last second. "I'm sorry, I didn't know-"

"Tsk, no need for that, son." A hand patted his shoulder, and Takeru looked back up to see a kind smile on the old god's face. "You've got a real woman here, even the humans I know of wouldn't dare face off against a goddess, much less bet with them on their chosen man!" He chuckled as the couple stared at him.

"W-wait...son?" Yukino looked between the two gods in shock. Izanagi looked at her with that amused expression on his face.

"Yes. Susano'o is my son, if you want to get technical about it. I am Izanagi, Emperor of this realm."

He clearly took far too much fun in seeing Yukino's dumbfounded look, though Takeru had to admit it was hilarious to see.

"Y-you...I...we were...talking...and you're his father?!"

_"That's_ what you got stuck on?!" The blunette asked, resisting the urge to hit his head with the palm of his hand.

The Emperor stroked his beard with his hand, clearly enjoying this. "Well, I've had my time with her, so you may walk her home with you, Susano'o." With a smirk he turned and started walking off, but not without a parting remark. "I'll give you my opinion on her later!"

Somehow, Takeru wasn't sure if he would like hearing that.

Yukino stared after the old god, looking like she'd seen a dragon. "He's...your dad...and the Emperor..." Clearly her brain had yet to process this.

The Sea god sighed and rubbed his forehead, feeling tired already from knowing what the old man would be doing. Hopefully Yukino had left a good impression on him...he reached out and grabbed her hand, tugging it. "Come on, let's go home."

Still befuddled, the girl nodded and twined her fingers with his, completely at ease with the motion. Takeru, on the other hand, felt all the eyes of those who had been watching them zero in on the gesture, and he felt the back of his neck grow hot in embarrassment. Yukino gave him a look before glancing behind him, a sly smile appearing on her face as recognition flashed in her dark blue eyes.

Before he could think, she had stepped closer to him and leaned up, giving him a quick peck on the cheek and murmuring to him in a low, seductive voice. "Let's go home then, shall we...?~"

It felt like Zeus' lightning had hit him in that moment. He felt shocked, but equally strong was a sudden urge to say screw it and take her in his arms. Reigning his suddenly haywire hormones in, he just nodded and walked with her towards the group that had gathered to see the scene, and he saw the reason for her sudden assertiveness.

Kushinada-hime was there, her golden eyes wide in fury as she stared at the human by his side. Takeru felt her stand a little taller, her chin raising in quiet confidence as they passed the gaggle of onlookers, all of whom were watching them with keen interest. No doubt the rumor mills would be full of a new topic tonight, he thought to himself.

Oddly though, he wasn't ashamed to be seen walking hand in hand with his little jellyfish. He glanced down at her to see her proud stance, and felt his heart swell with pride of his own. On a whim, he disentangled their fingers, despite her protest. She hushed, though, when he instead slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her close to him, laying a gentle kiss on her temple.

"You silly thing," he murmured, eyes soft as he saw a bright red blush bloom on her face.

"You're the silly one," she said, glancing up at him with a smile as they both heard the barely strangled sound of outrage behind them. Neither let it bother them, and they walked through the calm, shaded woods back to the house.

* * *

I thought he'd be mad at me, but I was pleasantly surprised by his actions as we left the palace. It made my love for him deepen, the way he hadn't cared if his supposed fiancee had seen him with the one he truly desired. Hope bloomed in my chest, and I wondered if he would finally listen to me.

As we stepped onto the familiar porch, he let me go only to open the door for me. I giggled at the motion and stepped inside before him, watching as he shut the door behind us and, to my surprise, locked it. The blue-haired god turned to me then, crossing his arms and giving me a look.

"So, you've been wanting to talk to me, correct?"

Startled by the fact that I didn't have to work to get him to listen, I stumbled for my words. "U-uh, yeah but...y-you're not mad?" I asked, just wanting to be sure.

"I am. But I'm willing to listen to your reasons," he sighed, moving to the living room and sitting down, motioning for me to sit in front of him.

I did so, fidgeting nervously. I didn't know why I was so off-balance by the fact that he was willing to listen at last. Maybe I'd just been a bit too worried...

"Well?" He watched me with his golden eyes, arms recrossing in front of him.

"...I'm sorry, Takeru," I said, lowering my gaze to the tatami mats below me. "You have every right to be mad about the bet I made with Kushinada and not being told about it."

He watched me as I talked, carefully keeping his face blank as he listened.

"I just...I was so tired of her rubbing it in that despite everything, she was going to get you in the end!" My fists clenched in anger in my lap. "With her highborn graces, her proper way of speaking, and that _damn_ _fan!_ I just wanted it to end. So I challenged her to something I _knew_ I could win against her!"

"You knew you would win that kind of bet?" Takeru asked, an eyebrow raising in slight disbelief. "And how did you figure that."

"Because." I lifted my blue eyes to meet his dark gold, confidence filling my voice now. "I knew that even if you knew nothing about the bet, you would choose _me._ You'd reject any of her advances, any of her attempts to manipulate and woo you, and you would only give your love to me."

I'd managed to surprise him. His expression changed as he stared at me, his mouth even dropping open slightly. I rushed on, looking back down at the floor so as to hold onto my nerves.

"After all we've been through together, to finally be with you only to be snatched away...I couldn't stand the thought. You're the only one I've ever felt this way for, Takeru! When I thought I'd never see you again, I had no drive to do anything at all. I was lost without you, and wasn't going to let you go again without one hell of a fight!" I took a breath, feeling my emotions threatening to overflow. "That's why, that's why I-!"

A pair of strong hands grabbing my arms and jerking me forward cut me off, and an instant later a pair of fierce, hot lips fell over mine in a searing kiss that cleared my mind of everything as I kissed him back. Takeru tugged me up against his body, arms going around my waist as my own raised to let my fingers dive into his bi-colored hair as I whimpered my approval.

This kiss was different than the hesitant, sweet ones we'd shared before. Those had made the butterflies in my stomach flutter wildly, while this...this pulled out a hidden fire from within, made me go wild in his embrace as I gave as good as he was giving, our tongue slipping out to do battle with one another for dominance over each other. The gods hands were starting to roam, sliding over the curves of my body hidden by the blue kimono I still wore whlie I arched into his touch.

He won the duel with our tongues, and his reward was the invasion of my mouth, taking in all the details he could as fast as possible. I felt us start to fall backwards, and in just a few seconds he had me pinned to the floor, gripping my hip with one hand while the other teased tantalizingly close to my chest. My breath hitched as excitement shot through me, lighting my fire further.

Soon, much too soon we had to part for air, and we gasped for the oxygen around us. I opened my eyes to stare directly into his liquid golden orbs, melting under the desire and love I saw within them. He leaned over me, keeping me pinned against the floor as he shifted so that he wouldn't crush me with his weight.

"Ta-takeru?" I panted, my face a hundred different shades of red by this point.

The god smirked down at me, lowering his head to kiss me again, more gently but still just as passionate while he murmured against my lips in a husky voice that sent lightning across my nerves.

"You silly jellyfish, you didn't have to do all that to prove that you were mine..."

I shuddered underneath him as his wandering hand found its desired location on my breast, my heart pounding hard beneath it loudly. I arched into his touch, instinctively craving more as our lips melded together fully, mind starting to drift off from the overwhelming sensations he was making me feel...

A sharp knock on the door made us pause, and I heard his frustrated growl as he lifted his head and shouted at the door. "What the hell do you want?!"

"Totsuka Takeru, is that any way to talk to your eldest brother?" a strange voice chastise, and I saw the color drain from his face for the second time that day.

"E-eh? Who is that?" I asked, sitting up slightly.

"Oh? You have company?~ I'm coming in then!"

"A-akira, don't you dare!" the god above me shouted, making a quick effort to remove himself from on top of me.

The door opened before he could, and I blinked at the stunningly beautiful deity that stood there with a surprised expression on their face. My first thought was that they were female, but when they spoke, I quickly corrected myself.

"Oh. Did I interrupt something, Ta-kun?"

"Dammit, I told you to stop!" The Sea god leapt to his feet, seething at the interruption of our...alone time. I myself quickly stood up as well, adjusting my hair and kimono back to its proper positions before eyeing the male before us.

His fair skin was accented by their long white hair that faded to a lovely shade of light blue. His kimono had a beautiful floral print on a white fading to green background, and a sun adornment completed the look by pinning some of his hair out of his face. His bright blue eyes looked me up and down, those delicate lips tilting up in a smirk.

"So this is who father was referring to..." he mused, just when I thought my blush couldn't get any deeper than it was. He turned to Takeru, who was also highly embarrassed about being caught.

"Come now, let's not dally~ You and your charming human girl have been summoned!"

"Summoned?" The bluenette narrowed his eyes. "By who, Akira?"

The god, Akira, merely smirked. "You should know. Dear old daddy wishes to talk to you and your girlfriend right away. Seems he's made a decision about your and Kushinada's engagement. He insisted that she come as well." He motioned towards me.

Takeru and I glanced at each other at the news, both of us surprised. We had just left, and yet we were being called back? Something didn't seem right to me...

Akira clapped his hands together, a silly grin on his face. "Come on now, let's go to the palace! The Emperor won't bite...much~"

That didn't reassure me like I hoped it would.


	23. The Desicion

**Much as I hate to say it, we're getting closer to the end here. :( I thank everyone for their support in the course of this story! Now, I won't stall you guys any longer. And as for Akira...I'm playing the game, but I haven't had a chance to meet him yet, so his personality here is all improve, so I spologize if he's ooc. On with the show!**

* * *

Takeru and I followed behind Akira the entire walk back to the palace, with the elder god chatting happily the entire way there about something, I really didn't pay much attention to him. What I _was_ paying attention to was the fact that the Sea god hadn't let go of my hand since we left the house, and was using his thumb to stroke the skin on the back of my hand. It was keeping the pink stain on my cheeks, but I wasn't going to complain.

It was the littlest things he did that brought me so much happiness. I glanced at him the same time he did me, and we both smiled.

"Ah, here we are, lovebirds~!" Akira singsonged, stopping at the gates. "Go on ahead, daddy's anxious to talk to you!"

"Thanks," Takeru huffed, clearly not okay with the interruption from earlier. I blushed a bit more at the mental reminder and nodded politely at Akira as we passed him, but I could feel his eyes and satisfied grin long after we were out of his sight.

"S-so...who was that?" I asked as we walked the path through the gardens to the doors of the palace.

"My eldest brother, Amaterasu," he sighed, shaking his head. "Just ignore him."

"_Eldest_ brother?! How many more do you _have_ that I haven't met?!" I demanded, wondering just how big his 'family' was.

The god chuckled and turned to smirk at me. "Just him and Tsukito, thankfully. Otherwise I don't know how I'd stay sane."

"I think I can understand why..."

Barking a laugh, he opened the doors to the inside of the palace, and my attention was swiftly pulled to the elegant, very lavishly decorated rooms around us. My eyes bugged out at the sight of all the precious stones, jade, and luxurious silks and other fabrics that gave color and life to the inside, and I found myself turning around more than a few times to take it all in.

"Come on, jellyfish, it's not that elaborate in here," Takeru commented, waiting for me to stop gawking.

"Not _that_ elaborate?!" I echoed, wondering just who had the better palace in all the realms.

"Well, you just get used to it after coming here every day for a long time," he clarified with a shrug. I giggled and let him take my hand again, guiding me through the palace so that I wouldn't get hopelessly lost. "When we get in here, let me do the talking," he murmured.

"Why? Can't I have a say?"

"If it's about the engagement, more than likely one wrong move and you'll be banished from my side." The look in his golden eyes was fierce. "And I don't want that to happen ever again."

The clenching in my chest from those words made me pause, and I stopped walking. Takeru looked back, a question on his face at my surprised expression. I rubbed my eyes, smiling at him with all the love I felt for him at that moment.

"I'm not going anywhere, I promise," I swore to him.

His lips tilted upwards into a smile, and he tugged me forward so that we could hug each other. I looped my arms around his armor a bit awkwardly, but it didn't keep me from squeezing him tightly. Our chins rested on the other's shoulders, and I sighed in contentment from being in his arms.

After a minute, I turned my head some to his ear, gathering up all my nerves to say something to him that I'd never gotten the chance to before. "Neh, Takeru?"

"Hm?"

"I love you."

The god stiffened, and for a few seconds I was filled with a terrible fear that I had said it too soon, and that once again I had royally screwed myself. But then he relaxed against me, and pulled away with a gentle chuckle as he lifted a hand to cup my face.

"I know. I love you too," he murmured, a light blush staining his cheeks as those golden eyes I'd come to adore looked directly into my dark blue ones.

I felt like I was going to pop like an over-inflated balloon when he said those words back to me. I felt the sting of tears behind my eyes, only this time from overwhelming happiness. I let out a tiny laugh, so giddy I couldn't help it.

Takeru stroked my cheek, letting me have my laugh before leaning in and capturing my smile with his own lips. I leaned in to kiss him back, wrapping my arms around his neck as his came around my middle, holding me close as we finally let our true feelings out.

"...Tsukito-san, Akira-san, should we do something?"

Nayomi's voice made it's way to us, and we broke the kiss in surprise as we saw her and Takeru's two older brothers watching us, all with smirks on their faces. Quickly we jumped apart, my face feeling like it was on fire from being caught in such an intimate moment with my god. He was just as embarrassed, sputtering and glaring at them as they watched.

"J-just how long were you all there?!"

"Oh, long enough to hear the touching confessions~" Akira said joyfully, lifting a sleeve to his face to half-hide the smile he wore.

"You two are just so cute!" Nayomi squealed, looking pleased. Something told me that a part of it was that she had something to tease me about later in the future...

"...I agree. You two are a good couple." The Moon god nodded, a slight smile on his face.

I coughed and shifted in place, not sure of how to deal with their knowing looks or the man beside me who was looking like he wanted to strangle someone. Going with what I knew, I touched his shoulder to make him look at me. "L-lets just go see the Emperor," I mumbled.

"Ah, good idea! These two also need to be present, since it's only fair the humans who were brought here hear this~" Akira said joyfully, suddenly shoving Tsukito and Nayomi forward. They stumbled, and to my surprise, their hands flew out to find the other to help balance the other instead of themselves, which just ended with them holding each other's arms as they steadied themselves before Nayomi rounded on the laughing Sun god.

"Akira-san, don't _do_ that!" she hissed, looking just as embarrassed as I had been a minute ago. Oh, how the tables had turned.

"But you must hurry, daddy wants to meet you as well! Best foot forward! Ja ne~!" With that, the eldest god skipped off, happy with the mayhem he'd caused.

Tsukito looked a little uncomfortable as he smoothed his robes out before looking at a blushing Nayomi. "Come, we're late enough."

With a sigh and a shake of her head, the girl turned around to see me smirking at _her_ this time. Her eyes narrowed and she quickly shook her head in denial.

Yeah, like I was going to believe her.

The throne room was rather large, decorated with golden dragons, ruby adornments and onyx backdrops. Izanagi sat in his seat of honor, smiling as we all filed in one by one.

"There you are. I was wondering when you'd all arrive."

"Apologies, mi'lord," Tsukito said, bowing low. All of us followed suit, though my bow turned stiff when I saw that Kushinada was there, along with a pudgy god I assumed was her father.

The Emperor stroked his beard before motioning us to take a seat. "Now, lets get all this cleared up so that we may get on with our lives."

I tucked my legs underneath me, nervous now that we were finally here. I glanced over at Takeru, who kept his face carefully blank as he looked up at the old god expectantly. Praying that it would all end well, I listened as Iza started talking.

"First order of business will be the easiest. Tsukuyomi, and your current charge, Nayomi."

Both of them straightened, and I was surprised by the look of calm assertiveness on Nayomi's features. I watched them both closely, intrigued.

"You were brought here on the request of Manabe Yukino, yes?" He directed the question at the girl.

"I was indeed mi'lord. It is to her that I give my thanks, for if she had not insisted and I were to be left behind, I may not have lived to see another day."

Because Kouta sure as hell would have come after her with a murderous intent for the fact that I got away. I gritted my teeth, hoping the bastard would rot in hell forever.

"How are you liking it in our realm, child?"

The question didn't even phase her, and I marveled at how she commanded herself so well. "I love it here. It's not the high tech world that I am used to, but the quiet serenity of the gods and goddesses has brought peace to my fragile heart." Her dark eyes glanced to Tsukito beside her. "Tsukuyomi-sama especially has helped me in aiding my recovery."

"Do you feel well enough to return to the human world?" Izanagi inquired.

At this, Nayomi finally hesitated. I could see the indecision in her eyes, like she wanted to go home, but I could tell she wanted to stay by the one who was helping her in her inner turmoil.

"...Mi'lord."

Tsukito's quiet voice drew all of our attention to him.

"Physically she is fine, but Nayomi suffers from nightly disturbances, hinting that her mental state is still not in order. I request that she stay here until the time comes where those indications fade permanently."

Takeru and I shared a stunned expression before turning back to the calm face of his brother. Nayomi also looked at him in surprise, but I could detect a hint of utter delight that he wanted her to stay. Izanagi turned to her.

"Is this true?"

"Yes...I still suffer nightmares and reoccuring memories frequently." A shudder ran over her body, and I frowned in worry for my friend. "Would it be too much to ask mi'lord permission to remain here in this peaceful realm to recover, instead of heading to the chaos of humans before I am prepared?"

Ah, there was that manipulation from her I knew so much. Though I wasn't sure if guilt tripping the ruler of the realm would do much, I had to give her credit for trying.

To everyone's surprise, the Emperor chuckled. "You've got quiet a smooth talker here, Tsukuyomi. She'd do well in court by your side." I saw just the slightest bit of a blush appear on the Moon god's face, as well as his roommate. "Permission is granted, and I welcome you to our realm."

"A thousand thanks, your highness," Nayomi and Tsukito said in unison, bowing low. I marveled at their timing, like they had been practicing it.

Nodding, the old god turned his gaze to Kushinada, her father, Takeru and I, motioning for us all to stand. We did so, walking forward to stand before him.

"Your issue has brought much chaos into all of your lives, some more than others." I saw his gaze flick to me for a brief second. "We will settle this officially. Kushinada, you may speak first. Why do you wish to marry Susano'o?"

The goddess took a graceful step forward, already throwing herself into an act of unjust betrayal. "Mi'lord, such a marriage would be advantageous. Susano'o would have a loving wife, someone who would look after his home for him and cook, as well as provide children in the future should he desire. I have been trained since a young age how to keep the house for my future husband, and Susano'o is the only man my father feels worthy of my hand. That is why we approached you for your permission and blessing."

The more she talked in that fake hurt voice of hers, the more I wanted to sink my fist into her face. I grit my teeth in an effort to calm myself, catching the warning look Takeru shot at me.

"And yet when this girl appeared after being rescued, you felt threatened by her because she is the one Susano'o prefers?" Izanagi asked, stroking his beard slowly.

Kushinada nodded, tears pricking her eyes. "I hadn't known that he was courting a human until we had your blessing. When he asked you to break the engagement, I couldn't have been more shocked or disappointed. The only man my father deemed worthy had his attention captured by a mere human! Can you imagine the scandal if this engagement broke because of a fleeting being who will die not even a hundred years from now?"

I bit my lip to help control my anger, quickly getting tired of this bullshit. Did she really think that she could weasel him into pitying her so she could keep him? _Especially_ after the conversation I'd had with the god earlier?

And that's when it hit me. I stood there, and then broke out into the most confident, know-I'm-going-to-win grin I'd ever given in my entire life. Takeru noticed it and gave me a funny look, to which I mouthed 'just wait.'

"You have a valid point, Kushinada-hime," the old god allowed. "But didn't you make a bet with Yukino that if you managed to get Susano'os attention away from her, _you_ would keep him and not the other way around?"

The goddess faltered for a second before responding. "I-I did, mi'lord, but-"

The stern look he gave her made her shut up. "From what I was told, she gave you a fair chance by not telling Susano'o about this bet, correct?"

"Y-yes sir..."

"And despite this, you tried to go behind her back and use methods that would make even your own father ashamed, did you not?"

My grin only got bigger as I saw her pale when her father gave her an incredulous look and the fierce whisper of "What the hell did you do?!"

When she didn't answer, Izanagi turned to me and motioned me forward. I stepped up and bowed, despite the slight protest from the god behind me.

"Manabe Yukino, you were brought here with Nayomi after being abused by a human boy, correct?"

"That is correct, your highness." My voice was smooth, despite my nerves. I could still easily mess this up, but I was determined to say my half of the story.

"How long have you known my son?"

"For a few months now. The best months of my life," I added, raising my head and smiling at him. His own lips twitched upwards for a breif second.

"And how do you feel for the Sea god, having seen the best and worst sides of him?"

I held my head high, eyes leveling with his as an equal, much to everyone's shock. "For better or for worst, no matter what side of him I see, my love for him is unwavering." My voice was strong, and there wasn't a shred of doubt within me as those old gold eyes looked down at me, testing my determination and will.

"Hmm...and what would you do, if you were able to stay with him?"

"I'd make him happy," I said honestly. "Even if I make him mad, I'll make him happy. I'll find ways to bring a smile to his face every day, I'll go out of my way to make sure that he's taken care of. I can't cook, but I'll sure try my hardest to learn if that's what it takes to get him to just smile and say 'you silly jellyfish' one more time."

"Well said...and you, Susano'o? What would you do if given the choice between these two women?"

"There is no contest," was the immediate response. "I love Yukino, and wish for her to walk by my side. As hotheaded, stubborn and infuriating as she can be, she's also loyal, a smart thinker, and is the only woman I know I can trust with my heart."

I turned my head around and smiled at the Sea god, and he grinned back as the Emperor watched us, stroking his beard.

"Hmm...you would choose a human over an advantageous marriage...I'm interested how you've started to think this way, Susano'o."

"If you met the Weed I went to school with, you'd start thinking the same way," Takeru said, chuckling and shaking his head.

Those wrinkled lips quirked upwards before Izanagi turned serious. "So the decision shall now be made. Kushinada, do you have anything to add beforehand?"

"Yes!" she said, clearly going for her last chance. "What of children? Do you wish for mixed-blood beings as your grandchildren, mi'lord? They will have their mother's mortality if she births them!"

"An interesting point...what would you do, Susano'o?"

I looked back, rather surprised at the turn this conversation had taken. He looked embarrassed, glancing off to the side and scratching the back of his hair. "W-well...I hadn't thought that far ahead..."

I grinned and turned back around. "I would love them with all the time we had with them, support them and make sure that they found their way in life."

"Y-yeah, what she said!" Takeru said quickly, and it drew a giggle from me. Izanagi also seemed amused, if the look in his eye was any indication.

"So that is now moot. Anything else to add?" he asked the opposing goddess.

Her golden eyes were fixed on me when I looked over at her, several emotions running through them as we stared each other down. Most obvious was anger and desperation, the knowledge that she was fighting a loosing battle. What surprised me though was the acceptance of the outcome as she sighed heavily, shaking her head.

"No, mi'lord...I have no further points to make. They clearly can counteract them in any way."

I should have felt happy at that point, but instead I almost felt pity for her. Here she was, using every means to keep the one man she wanted, and he was still lost to her. It reminded me of my days crushing on Kouta when Nayomi had just snatched him away, the denial and hurt I saw reflected in her tone and posture. My eyebrows creased together, wondering if maybe after this was all over, I could possibly find a way...

"The decision will now be made," Izanagi spoke, drawing everyone's attention back to him. "In consideration of all parties involved and their personal feelings, the engagement of Susano'o and Kushinada-hime is hereby..."

I held my breath, biting my lower lip as I stared up at the god, for a split second wondering if there was something I'd forgotten to say that would ensure Takeru and I's future, or if maybe Kushinada had a better chance than I had thought. Everyone froze when the Emperor paused, each with their own thoughts running around in their minds.

"...broken. You are free to find your own paths, and discover your futures as separate beings. Yukino," he said, looking down at me with a stern look. "You will be taught the ways of proper nobility. Kushinada will be your mentor, and she will teach you all you need to know about how to keep a god's home."

I felt a shudder of relief overtake me, and my knees almost gave out as Takeru dashed forward to help me stay up. I leaned back against him, taking in a deep breath to steady myself as the goddess beside us visibly wilted at the order.

"M-mi'lord, why me?" she asked, her once haughty voice small and defeated.

"Because it is as you said. You were raised knowing how to do these things, and I have a feeling Manabe Yukino will need to know them. Although," he added, giving her a look. "The actions you have taken to tear them apart may also have a part to play. Ensure that they will be happy, and your duty will be done."

"...Of course," she said, bowing her head low. I looked over at her, frowning. Maybe...I moved out of Takeru's arms, going over to her and holding out a hand. Kushinada raised her eyes, looking from my hand to me.

"...Much as I don't like you, I'll be learning from you," I said. "Now that this is all over, maybe we can put our differences aside? You're cooking is too good not to learn from." I grinned at her surprised expression. "Truce?"

"...You are one strange human woman," the goddess said, but she took my hand in hers, grip light and almost not there. I tightened mine to a comfortable level, and she immediately responded in kind as I smirked.

"There's that no-giving-up attitude I'm used to," I commented, and she actually let out a short laugh as we let go of each other.

The relief that this was all finally over came back to me, and I turned around to see Takeru looking happier than he ever had the last few weeks as I went over to embrace him.

"Ha! Good job, Yukino~!" Nayomi said as she stood up with Tsukito, heading over. "I wish you _all_ the luck with those lessons though." Her nose wrinkled in distaste, and I laughed at how ridiculous she looked.

"Hey, you might have to have them as well one day," I teased, glancing from the Moon god who was chatting with his brother back to her. She huffed and crossed her arms, though I didn't miss the light blush on her cheeks.

"As if. He's still too distant," she muttered under her breath, so that only I could hear. I put a hand on her shoulder to comfort her, knowing that she had a long road ahead to overcoming the remains of her time with Kouta. I clapped my hands then, attracting everyone's attention.

"So! Now that this is done, how about we all go and get something to eat? It's noon and I just happen to be starving. Kushi-san, mind whipping something up?" I turned to the dark haired goddess as she sputtered.

"K-kushi-san?! Do you know who I am?"

"Well I'm not calling you sensei, if that's what you're getting at," I said, getting chuckles from everyone as she fumed at my new nickname for her. "I need to learn how to cook anyway, so we might as well get started!"

"As long as you don't set something on fire again," Takeru said from behind me, causing me to flush in embarrassment at the incredulous looks I got.

"I-it was just a rice cooker!" I insisted, not pleased with this attention.

"...I think I will cook for you, Susano'o-san," she said simply, the shake of her head making me roll my eyes.

"Good. Shall we get going?" he asked, motioning to the door.

"I think I'll join you," Izanagi said suddenly, having appeared out from freaking nowhere and making most of us jump.

"Y-your highness, are you sure?" Kushinada asked, eyes wide.

"Yes. I haven't had a goddess make me a meal in a while, so I'd like to see how well you cook." A grin appeared on his face, and I couldn't help but shake my head as we all headed for the palace doors.

I noticed Takeru trailing behind, and slowed down to match my stride with his as the others continued on ahead. "Something wrong, sea monkey?"

His golden eyes settled on me, and I saw a hint of disapproval beneath the happiness there. "You're going to try and make friends with the woman who wanted to steal me?"

I shrugged. "Water under the bridge. I figure she's not that big a fool to go against the Emperor's orders. But," I added before he could say something, reaching over and grabbing onto his hand. "If she does I'll just kick her from here through the portal to my old world."

"Old world?" The god raised an eyebrow at me, and I blushed.

"Well yeah. No way I'm going back after all this has happened. And...my mom wants us to visit on the occasion, if nothing else."

"You talked to her?"

I nodded and explained to him what all had happened the day before with the pool as we walked through the calm forest, everyone else pulling ahead a good ways while we lagged behind.

He shook his head when I was done, sighing. "I wish her luck with her new love interest, honestly."

"Yeah. He has no idea how crazy she can be." I giggled at the image in my brain of my mother being her crazy self.

"You got it from her, you know," he teased, leaning over to give me a peck on the cheek. I blushed and stuck my tongue out at him.

"You like it."

"Indeed I do." He stopped walking to pull me into his arms, with only a minor squeak of protest from me before I gave in. Honestly, there was no place I'd rather be than in his warm embrace, feeling protected by those strong arms and his fierce nature. I nuzzled into his shoulder happily as he kissed my temple before letting me go.

"Come on, the others have disappeared." Taking my hand in his again, we walked forward after the group, happy that we could finally just be.

The peace didn't last long for us, though, as we came up to find everyone else standing and staring at his house, which had some _very_ loud and suspicious noises coming from it. My eyebrows shot up when I saw figures moving around, one apparently chasing another around the living room.

"What the hell...?" I said, looking at the other stunned gods, goddess and human.

"...I think Dionysus told everyone about your relationship, Takeru..." Tsukito said, looking at how pale his brother had suddenly become.

"Then...that means...? Oh shit!" He bolted forward, throwing the door open and yelling. "What the hell are you all doing in my house?!"

I ran after him, only to stop short at the sight before me in shock. The others came up behind us, and I heard Tsukito sigh in defeat.

Many faces turned to look at us in the doorway, and many smiles broke out on said faces as people stood up and came forward. Each person there tried to talk, having to try to be heard over the others.

"Ah, there's the happy couple! Come in, have a drink!"

"Take-Take, congrats!"

"Oh, she's cute~! You chose well, Ta-kun~!"

"...She's human too..."

"I hope my misfortune won't reach her..."

"Ah, you both look good together!"

I was overwhelmed by all the bodies suddenly in front of me, many of which had loose clothes that showed off quite a bit of model-worthy male bodies. I noticed one delicate woman behind them, holding her hands up and trying to get them to calm down. She had long purple hair and wore a Greek-style toga, her brown eyes looking a bit worried.

Takeru took a step back, groaning and putting his palm to his face in exhaspteration. "Damn it..."

"Wh-who are they?" I asked, looking at all the colorful new characters crowding the living room.

The Sea god sighed and shook his head before motioning to everyone. "Yukino, meet the idiots I went to school with."

School...? My eyes popped wide open as my mouth dropped at the realization.

"These guys were your classmates?!"


	24. The Party

**Gomen, gomen! * bows low in apology * I've had such a time with life recently I've had no time to write! But I finally have a day off of work now, so I shall throw my all into finishing the story for you all! Thank you for your patience!**

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The day could _not_ have gotten any more interesting, I swore to myself as I sat down at the table, surrounded by very loud, noisy gods while Kushinada wisely escaped into the kitchen. I wished I had an excuse to follow her, but it seemed I was destined to be the main attraction.

Takeru sat close to me, trying to shoo away the few gods who thought it was okay to invade any kind of personal space around me, mainly the two blondes, one with short shaggy hair and bright green eyes and the other with long, straigh flowing hair with very pretty blue eyes. The green-eyed one pushed right into my face, making me sputter.

"Ah, she's pretty, very pretty, Take-Take!" he exclaimed, his bright smile almost blinding me.

"Yes, you have good taste," the other added, hovering not as close as his friend, but still rather uncomfortable.

"Oi, would you give her some space?!" Takeru growled, shoving them both away and giving them a glare, but I could tell that he really didn't mean any harm to them by the soft look in those eyes.

"Oh, Ta-kun is protective of his lady~" a redhead with long braids purred, inching closer and staring at me. "Tell me, does this little mouse have a name?"

_A mouse?_ I raised an eyebrow at him and crossed my arms, looking him right in the eye. "Dunno, does the snake have more than a honeyed tongue?"

I seemed to have surprised him, if the slight flicker in his eye was any indication. However, he just threw his head back and laughed delightedly. "I like her already!"

"...Loki, don't start anything," his green haired companion with a lightning bolt shaved into the side cautioned. His brass eyes looked at me, and he gave a respectful nod. "I'm Thor Megingjord."

I smiled at him, pleased to finally have a proper introduction from someone. "Manabe Yukino."

"Ah! I'm Apollon! Apollon Agana Bellea!" the hyper blonde exclaimed, waving his arm in the air from where he'd landed. The purple haired girl was beside him, sighing and shaking her head fondly.

"My name is Baldr Hringhorni," the blue-eyed blonde said, giving a slight bow.

"Loki Laevatain~" the redhead said, poking his tongue out in a playful manner.

"Uncle, introduce yourself too!" Dionysus urged a dark, broody looking male with wavy grey hair who was sitting beside him.

I peered curiously at the one exposed red eye he had, giving a smile as he sighed and mumbled, "Hades Aidoneus."

The only one left was the purple haired girl by Apollon then. When I turned my head to see her, she gave me a warm smile, her brown eyes happy. "I'm Kusanagi Yui."

I blinked, eyes widening as I recognized the name. "_You're_ the weed Takeru talks about?"

A sputtering noise came from said god as the rest of them busted out into laughter, clearly amused by his reaction as well as Yui's ever so slight blush.

"Ah, it seems even with a girl of his own Ta-kun still remembers his days crushing on kitten~!" Loki exclaimed.

"Bastard, watch your mouth" the Sea god yelled, making a move to jump at the redhead. I put an arm on his shoulder and just shook my head when he looked at me.

"Not worth it," I mouthed, and he sighed and sat back down with a grumpy look on his face. I smiled at how cute he looked and patted his shoulder after he turned to human form.

Tsukito did the same as well, appearing more comfortable with the rest of them when also human. Izanagi glanced around, shrugged, and then did the same himself, which drew my attention when he turned into a wise looking village elder type with grey eyes full of tales to tell. Nayomi hovered by Tsukito, looking unsure of what to do as attention gravitated towards her.

"Ah, does Tsuki-Tsuki have a girlfriend too?" Apollon asked, head tilting in a puppyish manner.

"No way!/No," was the immediate response given at the same time by the Moon god and his human charge. And when they did that, every single person other than them just grinned.

"Awh, that's too bad~" Loki said, slinking up to her and leaning close, making her jump and blush as he murmured. "Does that mean I can take her?"

Tsukito reached over and tugged her away, frowning slightly at the intruding god. "Loki, please refrain from doing that. She'll be uncomfortable."

"Ah, posessive?" he chuckled, looking like a Cheshire cat.

"No, I just left an abusive relationship!" Nayomi spat, her hackles raising now that she was away from Loki.

"Loki, leave her alone," Baldr said, going over and urging him to sit back down. With a dejected sigh the prankster did as told, though his glances between me and Nayomi let me know that he was far from done in having fun teasing us and the brothers.

I sighed and shook my head, knowing that this was probably going to be a long night.

All the gods settled down at the table finally, throwing out a few questions to the two brothers, mostly along the lines of 'how've you been?' or 'why haven't you visited us?'

The conversation was almost back to normal, just borderline going to nostalgia territory for them when Hades, who had been looking at me, spoke up. "How did you two meet?"

I paused in sipping my tea, glancing to the blunette next to me as he did the same. I raised an eyebrow in question, wondering if it was alright. He gave a shrug, so I looked back at the man to speak.

"I actually had been going to the beach by the city I used to live in, and saw there was something off. I followed a trail that led me to a cave with a deep pool inside, just like the on in there." I nodded towards the pool room. "I started talking to myself about my day, and then he just appeared from it."

"I'd heard her voice coming from in there, and wanted to know how the hell a human had found the other side," Takeru said, adding his side. "I didn't know there'd be a jellyfish on the other side, though."

"Jellyfish?" Baldr echoed, looking confused as I glared at my boyfriend.

"Shut up, sea monkey! You were the one who was so rude to make me snap at you."

He scoffed and crossed his arms. "Why did I ever stay and listen to you jabber on about nothing for ten minutes again?"

We started going back and forth after that, telling our story by griping at each other more so than actually giving a description of how our relationship started. It just seemed to amuse the other gods, though, who either laughed out loud, chuckled, or just watched with silly smiles on their faces.

"Who was the one who lost the bet and had to sing on stage?" I smirked, remembering that moment with a sense of triumph.

"Whose the one who got pulled on stage to dance?" he countered, his amber eyes laughing.

"Okay you two, that's enough." Kushinada appeared then, having turned into her own human form. Dionysus' eyes were immediately drawn to the attractive woman, and everyone who saw that rolled their eyes at the realization that she would be flirted with very thoroughly by night's end. "Dinner's ready, if any of you are interested in eating tonight.

The wine-haired god spoke up, a lazy grin on his face. "Would the lovely lady also have dessert prepared? Though you're a feast for the eyes yourself."

The goddess flushed a little, looking startled at the pickup line for a few seconds before smirking. "Dessert will be made afterwards. Boys like you need to eat their real food first."

I had to cover my mouth with a hand to stop myself from snorting in laughter as Dionysus played like he'd been wounded. "My lady, I think your eyes must be mistaken if you see me as a boy. Shall I have a chance to prove to you that I'm a man?"

"In a thousand years, perhaps. Meantime, come eat so you can grow into a healthy adult." With that, she turned and went back into the kitchen, leaving the Greek God looking like he'd struck the perfect challenge.

I spoke up as everyone stood. "Dio, I don't think you want her. She's all venom and false smiles."

"On the surface, perhaps. All women have their secret sides, though," he said, eagerly following the goddess into the other room.

We all had a small laugh at that as we filed in, everyone eyeing the delicious feast before us with eager anticipation. Takeru, being the man of the house, pulled me and him to first in line, followed by Tsukito and Nayomi, then his father and Kushinada. The other gods just kind of fell into their own order after that, chatting happily while we all got our share. The atmosphere was joyful and full of friendly company, and I found myself sighing in content as we all sat and ate together.

_Eating among the gods...who'd have thought,_ I said to myself, a silly grin playing on my lips.

* * *

After we all finished our food it seemed time for a nostalgia trip, all the gods chatting with Yui about their school days. I learned a lot that I hadn't known about Takeru, including his love of kendo and running in the mornings and nights. I learned of all their escapades and adventures during that one year, laughing and crying with them during all the ups and downs.

"I had heard he wore a dress during the play, but Tsukito as well?" I laughed, looking at the stoic Moon god. Nayomi was smirking beside him, looking like she'd struck gold as he calmly nodded.

"It was my mission," he commented, making me shake my head.

"Wish you guys could have recorded that..." I muttered. I'd have paid good money to get a hold of _that_ one.

"I'm glad no one did. That was embarrassing, getting beaten by that strange person in a blanket!" Takeru exclaimed, still perturbed by the incident.

I giggled, looking at him with soft eyes. His own returned the look, and he reached over to ruffle my hair. Loki, who had been quiet up till then, decided to ask something.

"So when are you two going to get to having kids?~"

I choked on the last piece of food I'd managed to swipe from someone, eyes widening as I coughed violently. Takeru did the same, only on air. I beat my chest to make the food go down, gasping for breath as I blushed red as a lobster as the god faced the prankster with a shocked look on his face while the others looked just as flabbergasted.

"Loki, that's not something you just ask!" Baldr chastised, though...was that a glimmer of interest in his blue eyes?

Izanagi leaned back, looking at us. "I was actually wondering about that as well..."

Takeru looked at the Emperor with eyes as wide as mine and a blush twice as deep. "O-oi, we only just found out we can stay together permanently! Kids aren't anywhere in the near future!"

"...I would like to see you two have children," Tsukito said calmly, Nayomi almost rolling on the floor next to him in laughter.

"Not you too!" I whined at the purple haired god, not liking the sudden interest everyone had on the subject. Even Kushinada had a strange look in her eyes!

Yui sent me a sympathetic look, and I figured that she'd gone through the same thing when she and Apollon had become a couple. I gave her a pleading look, to no avail as everyone started to bug us, much to Loki's mischievous delight.

Finally Takeru slammed his hands down on the table, making everyone shut up as he shouted. "We're not having kids until we get married, okay?!"

"Married?" I echoed, having been unaware till just then that I could blush even more than before.

"Ah, you want to do it in order?" Dionysus said, his arm draped over Kushinada casually while she tried to elbow him away.

"...I wish you happiness in this endeavor," Hades murmured, though his voice was barely heard over the cacophony of the others as they started up again.

By this time Nayomi was laughing so hard she actually had to leave the room to catch her breath, and I saw Tsukito follow her outside and mentally sighed in relief that there was one less person to tease us. I glanced around at the overly excited gods before me before shouting myself.

"Okay, enough! I need a moment to myself," I told Takeru, and he nodded as I stood up and walked toward the pool room, hearing the other gods finally start to calm down a little bit. I escaped into the dancing blue light of the room, feeling myself relax after all the excitement that had just happened. I stared down into the gently rippling water, entranced as it made its happy splashing sounds.

I heard light footsteps enter the room, and I looked up in surprise to see that it was Apollon's girl, Yui. She smiled at me softly and came to stand next to me, looking down into the pool as well.

"How do you deal with those guys? They're so hyper," I asked her, though I grinned as I spoke.

She giggled, a hand coming up to cover her mouth. "You get used to it, honestly. After half a year in school with them, it got easier and easier over time."

I nodded. "Being around Takeru for a while let me know what set him off and such. Plus his sweet side as well."

Those innocent brown eyes looked at me, and I turned my blue ones right back, watching as the light from around us illuminated her features. She was very cute, I had to admit, and just from talking with her a little bit I could see why she was chosen to be 'the human representative,' as the gods had said at one point.

"...I'm glad," she said at last, her voice soft. I tilted my head, wondering what she meant. "That he's finally found someone for him. When he knew I was in love with Apollon, he and the others looked so crushed..."

I half-grimaced, not needing details on how that sort of thing went. My hand found it's way to her shoulder, patting it comfortingly. "I'll take care of him, I promise. He'd yell at me if I neglected him anyway," I said, laughing.

Yui giggled as well, looking very happy as she turned to me. We were about the same height, I saw, though one of us may or may not have been taller by a centimeter or two. The girl held a hand out to me, smiling.

"If you need help with anything, just let me know okay? I need a break from the Greek Realm every once and a while."

I took her hand, squeezing it lightly. "I can see why. You have to deal with a hyper blonde every day. How do you manage?" I asked, eyebrow raised.

"W-well..." A light blush rose on her cheeks, and I grinned as she looked flustered.

"Sun boy's that good in bed?" I teased, and she sputtered and waved her hands in front of her.

"I-it's more than just that!" she insisted, and I laughed.

"The lady doth protest too much!"

"Oi, what are you two doing in here?"

We both looked over as Takeru came in, his amber eyes glancing between the two of us and raising an eyebrow at the flustered Yui. I merely grinned and shrugged. "Just talking is all."

"Well, Apollon's about to have a heart attack looking for you, weed," he said, jerking his thumb to the area behind him where I vaguely heard the Sun God calling for Yui frantically.

She merely sighed and shook her head, looking back at me. "Talk to you soon, okay? Come for a visit as well."

"You got it," I said, nodding. Yui smiled and walked out, leaving me and Takeru alone in the room with just the sound of the water rippling happily.

The Sea god moved over to me, glancing down at the pool. "What are you doing, jellyfish?"

"Thinking, relaxing, little things," I answered, moving closer and leaning against him happily. His arm came around my side as he dropped a quick kiss on my forehead, eyes soft.

"What are you thinking about?" he murmured, and I blushed a little.

"How lucky I am to have met you."

He chuckled, the sound deep and rich. "I think I should be the one saying that to you."

I wrinkled my nose up at him, pretending to scowl. "You'd have been fine if you'd never met me. I'd still be the lonely girl on the outside yearning for a boy who wasn't ever worth my time or effort."

He sighed and shook his head. pulling me so that he could hug me from behind. I blushed as his strong arms held me close to his warm body, but I wasn't going to protest this. I turned my head back to smile at him, and he returned it as he pecked me on the lips.

"So...marriage before kids?"

It was his turn to have a pink stain on his cheeks, and he just shrugged. "I think we should just do it the right way."

"I'm not going to have to wait till we're married to have fun though, am I?" My grin turned coy, teasing him with a seductive tone.

Those arms tightened around me and he growled low in his throat, sending a pleasant shiver up my spine. "Careful what you wish for, Yukino..." he warned before kissing me again.

I returned it happily, a hand reaching up to tangle in his blue locks as I turned in his arms, eagerly pressing against him as he tilted his head to deepen the kiss. I felt a little thrill dash through my system as his hands started to smooth down my back, running over the fabric of my kimono as he got closer...

And then we were both shouting in shock as a bucket of ice cold water came out of nowhere and drenched us both thoroughly. We broke apart and sputtered, looking around for the culprit.

A familiar laugh from above our heads made us look up to see a certain Norse god of Fire hanging from the rafters, holding the incriminating bucket in his hands as he used his legs to stay put up there. I was mildly impressed with how strong those legs of his were to keep him up there, but Takeru on the other hand was brimming with rage.

"LOKI YOU LITTLE SHIT!" he bellowed, only to receive more laughter.

"Maybe that will cool you two lovers down! Ja ne~!" he crowed happily. flipping over, landing on the tatami mats and bolting out to the other room, Takeru following right behind him with murder in his gaze. I followed them as well, shivering from the water dripping off of me as the others still in the house looked after the two runaways with wide eyes.

"Wh-what happened?!" Yui asked from her position in Apollon's lap. He was hugging her tightly, clearly not letting her go far from his side anytime soon.

"Loki drenched us in ice water!" I hissed, not pleased with the prank at all. "I'm going to kill him!"

Nayomi busted out laughing, pointing at me in delight. "Oh gods, that's just perfect!"

I shot her a venomous glare and smirked. "Just wait for your turn, Nayomi. He's not the only one who can pull a prank."

"Bring it, sister!" she said with confidence, leaping to her feet and taking a battle stance. Tsukito glanced at her, looking a little disturbed.

"Nayomi, I can see your...underwear..."

With a squeal she sat back down, her face turning red as it was my turn to laugh. I could hear Takeru still chasing a laughing Loki around the cherry grove outside, and everyone moved to watch the scene, laughing all the while. Yui handed me a towel she'd found and I took it with a nod of thanks, drying my hair as I watched the two gods run around crazily. I felt myself smile in happiness, despite it all.

I finally belonged, not just somewhere but to someone. Someone that I could trust with my heart, my soul. A warmth bloomed in my chest, and I sighed in contentment, knowing that I was finally home.


	25. Epilogue - Nightmares

_I was tied up, hanging from my wrists on the rope...it hurt, the skin hurt so much there. But I was used to it. My head hung low, wondering when I'd be released this time._

_I felt him come closer, his dark chuckle sending spikes of fear into my heart as he tilted my head up. I kept my eyes shut, not wanting to see the demented smile at my pain I knew was there on his face...that face I once thought so handsome, now so twisted..._

_"What's wrong, my sweet? Are you tired already?" he murmured, almost sweetly. I barely stopped myself from flinching, knowing that any movement away would just result in more pain. "Come now, I want to have some more fun with you."_

_I felt his hand move away, and for a second I thought I'd be set free. Maybe this time, I could run, run and find help..._

_A sharp slap to the face knocked the thought from me, and I couldn't surpress the cry of pain this time. It stung, like a bee had decided to attack me. At least he was only using his hands this time, instead of wood. Or a rock._

_"Ah, did I say you could make noise?" he sing songed, clearly pleased that I had made a mistake. A shudder ran through my body as he grabbed the collar of my torn and bloody shirt, pulling me up. My eyes opened in voleentarily, staring into those demented brown eyes._

_"Time for some punishment, I guess..."_

* * *

I bolted upright with a terrified scream, gasping for breath as I felt the cold sweat clinging to my body as it trembled. I whimpered into the darkness around me, hugging myself as I pulled my legs up to my chest.

Every night. Every single night these nightmares plagued me. Reminded me that for so long, I was at his mercy, his plaything until he got tired and left me, sometimes hanging from those damn ropes all night...covering up the burns and scars was a bitch, but I'd had to put on like nothing was wrong, or I'd have more hell to pay.

I heard the door to my room open, but I didn't look in the direction of it. I knew who it was by the almost silent rustle of fabric along the floor as they came to me and kneeled down beside me. His gold eyes peered at my terrified face, his expression worried.

"Nayomi..." he murmured soothingly, reaching up to brush some hair out of my face. A move he said he learned from reading magazines when he was in school, he once told me. Even so, I leaned towards him, his calm aura comforting me a little as my heart started to slow down.

"I c-can't take it anymore," I stammered, my arms tightening around myself. "Why do I still have these nightmares? Why is he still haunting me, making me look over my shoulder all the time?"

Tsukito sighed, and in the next instant he was pulling me towards him. I squeaked a little as I was tugged into his lap, my head being tucked under his chin a little awkwardly as his long sleeves covered my body as he hugged me tightly, like a protective barrier from the world.

It had become a nightly thing, this cuddling. It was the only thing that calmed me down, even if it took a little while. Otherwise I would be up all night, unable to sleep and constantly jumping at the little noises from the night, thinking that Fujiwara Kouta had found his way to the god's realm, and was torturing me before coming in for the kill...

"Shh...you'll be fine," the Moon god murmured, his hair tickling my nose a little as he stroked the back of my head. Most of what he did was from books and magazines he'd read, but as long as he was here, comforting me, I found that I couldn't care if he did it with a slightly emotionless voice. I just wanted the closeness, the illusion of safety he offered me each night.

After a while, the trembles subsided, and I found myself breathing easier as my body relaxed against him. I shifted in his lap a little to get more comfortable, finding myself unwilling to leave them just yet. My eyes opened a little to watch the pale moonlight come in from the window, little dust particles glinting within as they slowl drifted down to earth.

"...Are you okay now?" he asked, looking down at me as his hand stopped moving. Strangely, I wanted him to keep petting me.

_No. You're still on edge. You can't have those kinds of thoughts ever again, look where it got you last time._

"Y-yeah...thank you, Tsukito-san," I murmured, nuzzling into his neck a little bit. I felt him stiffen ever so slightly before relaxing again with a sigh.

"What is there to help you get over this?" he wondered aloud, and I had to sigh myself this time.

"I don't know...they're not as bad, but I still have them..." I mumbled, my eyes feeling heavy from the lack of sleep that always came from waking up each night.

His hand started moving again, and I couldn't help but smile a little bit. "Maybe if we...stay like...this," I murmured quietly, feeling myself drift back into dreams despite my will to stay awake.

* * *

Tsukito realized that she had fallen asleep in his arms when her breathing evened out and her body relaxed against him. He shook his head ever so slightly as he moved his body to be more comfortable, unwilling to let his human charge go just yet.

The Moon god turned his head up to see the moonlight filtering in through the window, narrowing his eyes at what the dancing light was saying. It was a warning in the light, warning him against some future endevor, but he couldn't read what it was without looking directly at the moon itself. Maybe he could lay Nayomi down for a minute...

She shifted in his grip, drawing his attention back to her as she whimpered, the nightmares threatening to return. His hand moved automatically, stroking her hair to calm her. It worked, and she settled down with a tired mumble of nonsense, at ease within the man's arms.

When he had first tried to hold her after the nightmares, the girl had freaked out, refusing to be held after her nightmares had waken her. It was only by catching her off guard and holding her for a few minutes as she struggled did she calm down, realizing that he meant her no ill will. After that, Nayomi had willingly come to him for comfort, eager to chase away the terrors that still plagued her.

This was the first time she'd fallen asleep in his arms, though, and Tsukito had an odd feeling of content settle over him as he watched her sleeping form. Carefully, he shifted back so that he could lean against the wall and watch the moonlight, all the while petting her soft black hair as he mused over many things.

Now that the fiasco with his brother was resolved, Tsukito could focus on help Nayomi heal enough to go back to her own world. Yukino had relayed the message that their assailant had been detained by what she had called the 'police,' and was currently in 'jail,' whatever those terms ment. But it had made Nayomi stress less, and the look of relief that she'd had put the Moon god's fears at ease for a time.

Yet the nightmares still insisted. What could make them still haunt her, even though she was perfectly safe?

His eyelids slowly started to drop, and the god realized how tired he was himself. He settled against the wall, holding Nayomi close as he felt himself drift off with a small sigh.

He's worry about it later. For now, he'd just hold her as they slept, hoping that being close to him would help keep her mind at ease.

* * *

**And this marks the end of Beneath the Surface my dear readers...and yet, also the start of another. I hope you will all keep an eye out for the next book in my planned series, Under the Moonlight! Cheesy title, yes, but I couldn't think of anything better... -sighs-**

**I want to thank my beta reader, LilweenGalatrass for patiently reviewing my works even without internet and using her phone! For those who read her stories, that is why she hasn't updated, she moved and her internet has been unavailable. But hopefully she will be back within the week! And she has a lot for you, I promise...**

**Also a thank you to all my story faves, followers and reviewers, as well as my silent supporters! Without you, I would not have had the ability to have made it to the end. This is THE first story I have ever completed, and it's all because of your lovely reviews and support through it all! I hope you stick with me through the next book as well!**

**Arigato, and ja ne for now!~**


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